FX.co ★ Shares in Hong Kong Stock Rally

In the early hours of Thursday's trading, Hong Kong's stock market experienced a rise of 266 points, or 1.3%, reaching 21,324. This increase was driven by widespread gains across various sectors. The rally followed a previous sluggish session and coincided with a rebound in U.S. futures, which had dipped due to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's cautionary remarks about how trade disputes could obstruct the central bank's objectives for inflation and employment. Meanwhile, China's mainland markets aimed to extend a four-day upward trend, buoyed by positive Q1 GDP figures, despite the looming threat of U.S. tariffs. Reports also indicated that state-backed investors entered the market on Wednesday afternoon, as evidenced by increased trading volumes in certain ETFs that track key indices. Separately, Premier Li Qiang emphasized the need for enhanced efforts to boost consumption and domestic demand. Nevertheless, potential gains were limited by lingering uncertainty regarding new tariffs, leaving investors grappling with the unpredictable nature of retaliatory trade moves. Noteworthy top performers included Longfor Group, which rose by 5.5%, KE Holdings at 5.2%, SMIC at 3.2%, and Tencent Holdings at 2.5%.