Local shares eke out small gains

Hong Kong shares had a see-saw day before closing in positive territory on Wednesday. Investor sentiment in the region was lifted by expectations of governments spending more to stimulate their economies and an acceleration in vaccine roll-outs.

The Hang Seng Index took the cue from Wall Street and opened higher, but it then reversed course and dipped almost 300 points.

It managed to recoup some of the losses in the afternoon but remained under pressure before finishing up 58 points, or 0.2 percent, at 29,307.

Turnover reached HK$221 billion.

Despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly revenue, Alibaba was weighed by concerns over ongoing regulatory risks and slid almost 5 percent during the day.

But it staged a late rally and finished 0.4 percent higher, at HK$261.

Sunny Optical led winners in the blue-chip index, jumping 5 percent.

Meituan surged to a new high and finished up 4.9 percent at HK$414.2.

Sing Tao News Corporation, the publisher of local newspapers Sing Tao and The Standard, soared 12.1 percent, after its boss Charles Ho sold most of his stake to the heiress of mainland developer Kaisa.

Lenovo advanced 4.6 percent after reporting record quarterly profit and revenue.

Markets across the border finished in the red on profit-taking. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.5 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index edged down 0.3 percent. The Shenzhen Composite Index shed 0.9 percent.

Around the region, the Nikkei in Japan and Seoul’s Kospi each put on about 1 percent. Taiwan was up less than 0.1 percent. Singapore added 0.6 percent. Australia climbed 0.9 percent.