HK shares jump more than 3 percent on tech rebound

Tech shares led the Hang Seng Index to a strong comeback on Thursday, while other markets in the region also headed north after Beijing reportedly spoke to bankers to calm nerves over its recent regulatory crackdown and the US Federal Reserve kept its monetary policy unchanged.

The Hang Seng Index began more than 700 points higher and the benchmark held its ground throughout the day, wrapping up 841 points, or 3.3 percent higher, at 26,315.

Market turnover reached HK$254.1 billion.

The Hang Seng Tech Index soared 8 percent as the sector continued to regain losses following a blistering selloff earlier in the week.

Heavyweight Tencent surged 10 percent. Meituan jumped 9.3 percent. Alibaba rallied 7.3 percent. Xiaomi added 3.2 percent.

The biggest blue-chip winner, Alibaba Health Information Technology, rocketed 22.7 percent.

Hang Lung Properties put on four percent, after the developer announced it returned to first-half profit.

But mainland banks were under pressure. China Construction Bank retreated 2.7 percent. ICBC lost two percent. Bank of China slipped 1.5 percent.

Shares on the mainland saw their best day in two months, with the Shanghai Composite Index adding 1.5 percent and the blue-chip CSI300 index advancing 1.9 percent. The Shenzhen Composite gained three percent.

Taiwan rose more than 1.5 percent. Tokyo edged 0.7 percent higher. Seoul inched up 0.2 percent. Singapore climbed 1.1 percent. Australia logged 0.5 percent of gains.