HSI heads north on tech bargain-hunting

Hong Kong shares finished with fresh gains on Wednesday as investors built on a recent rally supported by bargain-buying of tech firms, which have been hit for weeks by China’s regulatory overhaul.

The Hang Seng Index added 0.58 percent, or 149 points, to 26,028.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.65 percent, or 23 points, to 3,567, though the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange shed 0.49 percent, or 11 points, to 2,417.

Taipei shares were lower.

Other Asian markets mostly rose investors tried to assess whether the global recovery will be resilient enough to withstand the fast-spreading Delta Covid variant.

However, optimism continues to be tested by the stuttering rollout of vaccines and a spike in infections in some countries as well as China’s drive to tighten its grip on the world’s number two economy with a swathe of new regulations for private enterprises.

Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul and Wellington were all in positive territory but Sydney and Mumbai fell. (AFP)