FX.co ★ Hong Kong Stocks Extend Gains for Second Day

The Hang Seng Index advanced 1.7%, or 383 points, to 23,445 on Friday, marking a second consecutive session of gains as technology, financial, and consumer shares drove broad-based strength. The index outperformed many other Asian markets even as technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks weakened elsewhere, with global investors continuing to rotate out of the sector on worries that the AI-fueled rally had overshot fundamentals. In Hong Kong, however, investors remained buyers of internet names, attracted by comparatively appealing valuations. Sentiment was further buoyed by improved global risk appetite after the latest U.S. jobs report helped ease concerns about additional Federal Reserve rate hikes. Meanwhile, lower oil prices—amid a gradual normalization of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—helped temper fears of energy-driven inflation and underpinned risk-taking. Among notable gainers were Tencent Holdings (up 2.7%), Xiaomi (5.7%), Knowledge Atlas (11.8%), Kuaishou Technology (6.2%), and AIA (1.5%).