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Hong Kong stock market
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Alibaba, Tencent, Macau casino stocks fuel market rebound as China eases more Covid measures in bullish reopening signal

  • Alibaba, Tencent and Macau casino operators advanced after the State Council unveiled more measures to soften its anti-pandemic controls
  • Top health officials indicated the nation was getting closer to a return to normalcy in justifying the latest rollback in pandemic curbs

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An electronic board displays stock transactions in October outside Exchange Square in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: May Tse
Jiaxing Li
Hong Kong stocks advanced, reversing a two-day slide, after China’s top health officials said the nation is getting closer to a return to normalcy, justifying additional measures to ease its zero-Covid regime.

The Hang Seng Index jumped 3.4 per cent to 19,450.23 at the closing of Thursday trading. The Tech Index rallied 5.7 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1 per cent.

Alibaba Group surged 5.1 per cent to HK$89.40 and Tencent Holdings climbed 5.7 per cent to HK$317.40. JD.com rose 5.5 per cent to HK$234 and Meituan gained 6.4 per cent to HK$178.30. Macau casino operator Sands China soared 9.4 per cent to HK$25.70 and rival Galaxy Entertainment added 5.3 per cent to HK$52.45.

China’s State Council announced a new 10-point plan to ease Covid-19 controls on Wednesday, including mass testing and quarantine requirements and reducing the use of the health code system. That followed a 20-point plan on November 11 that helped spark the biggest monthly rally in Chinese stocks since October 1998.

The Hang Seng Index has risen 32.4 per cent from the lowest point in October, powered by the China reopening bets that helped recoup more than US$1 trillion of market value in Hong Kong. Wall Street banks from Morgan Stanley to Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have turned more bullish on Beijing’s zero-Covid policy pivot.

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