The Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong, China on Wednesday July 13, 2022.
Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Hong Kong stocks briefly rose 7% on Friday, with cyclical tech and consumer stocks driving the surge amid rumors of China reopening and a report that US inspections audits of Chinese companies were completed faster than expected.
In the final hour of trading, the Hang Seng Index rose 6.06%, while the Hang Seng Tech index climbed 7.92%. The city’s shares reacted to speculation about a possible reopening of China as zero-Covid policies persist, dragging down the economy.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 2.43% at 3,070.80 and the Shenzhen Component gained 3.20% to settle at 11,187.43
Stefanie Holtze-Jen, APAC CIO at Deutsche Bank, said China’s reopening is still an uncertainty, but it’s “exciting to see these rumors coming.”
“The market seems to think that if there’s smoke, there must be fire,” she said, adding that she was monitoring announcements about the upcoming Shanghai Marathon and articles in the city’s newspaper. Chinese Communist Party, People’s Daily, for tone changes.
She also told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” that she was paying close attention to economic meetings in December.
Other Asia-Pacific markets continued to trade the Fed’s 75 basis point interest rate hike and eagerly awaited the jobs report.
from Japan Nikkei 225 ended down 1.68% to 27,199.74 after a holiday Thursday. The Topix slid 1.29%, closing at 1,915.40. In South Korea, the Kospi added 0.83% to 2,348.43. MSCI’s broadest Asia Pacific ex-Japan equity index rose 2.53%.
australia S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.5% at 6,892.50. The Reserve Bank of Australia released its monetary policy statement on Friday.
Asia-Pacific currencies strengthened US dollar index slipped.
The monthly US jobs report is expected to be released later. Economists expect 205,000 jobs to have been added in October and expect the unemployment rate to remain at 3.5%, according to Dow Jones.
Overnight, US stocks fell for a fourth straight session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 146.51 points, or 0.46%, to close at 32,001.25. The S&P 500 fell 1.06% to end at 3,719.89, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.73% to 10,342.94.
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Carmen Reinicke contributed to this report.
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