FX.co ★ Hong Kong Stocks Surge to Five-Week High

The Hang Seng Index surged 2.9%, or 702 points, to 24,618 on Thursday, extending its rally for a second straight session and marking a five-week high. The advance was largely underpinned by improving global risk appetite following Democratic gains in the US midterm elections, which bolstered expectations of renewed diplomatic efforts to resolve the Middle East conflict.

Brent crude tumbled more than 8% to below US$95 per barrel, helping to ease inflation concerns, while declining US Treasury yields and a softer US dollar further supported risk assets. Sentiment was additionally lifted by a strong rebound on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 climbed 1.6% on Wednesday, its sharpest gain in three months, and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.9%.

On the domestic front, confidence was reinforced by Beijing’s market-stabilization measures. State-backed funds reportedly injected about US$11.5 billion into nine exchange-traded funds, while applications for PBOC-backed share-buyback loans surpassed CNY 200 billion.

Among the top performers on the Hang Seng were Tencent (+4.9%), Xiaomi (+4.0%), Meituan (+5.6%), Alibaba (+2.6%), and AIA (+2.4%).