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Hong Kong stock market
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Hong Kong stocks rally, with Wharf REIC jumping nearly 8 per cent and new economy stocks having another good day

  • New economy stocks including Tencent, Alibaba and Meituan Dianping climb in Hong Kong
  • Sentiment is overall positive, with city’s benchmark having posted back-to-back monthly gains

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Wharf REIC, owner of the Times Square luxury shopping centre in Causeway Bay, has seen its stocks collapse due to coronavirus, which hurt tourism and local foot traffic. Its stock shot up Tuesday amid a rush of bargain hunting. Photo: Robert Ng
Iris Ouyang

Hong Kong stocks rallied the most in two weeks on Tuesday, snapping a three-session losing streak as bargain hunters swooped in to pick up virus-battered Hong Kong property giants.

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Wharf REIC, the owner of Harbour City and Times Square luxury shopping centres, surged 7.5 per cent after sinking to a record low on Monday. That was its biggest percentage gain in 11 months, according to Bloomberg data.

New economy stocks continued to advance, with Tencent climbing 2 per cent, Alibaba, the e-commerce giant and owner of the South China Morning Post, rising 3.3 per cent and food delivery giant Meituan Dianping jumping 8.7 per cent.

Mall owners have been especially hard hit in the real estate sector by the coronavirus, which worsened the already bleak picture caused by monthslong protests that discouraged mainland visitors to visit the city and reduced local foot traffic.

Wharf REIC was the top percentage gainer on the 50-member Hang Seng Index, which finished with a 2 per cent gain at 24,946.63, breaking a three-session losing streak. Overall, sentiment has been positive over the past two months, with gains posted in June and July on building excitement about new IPOs and a new tech board, both of which have attracted money into the city. Still, the benchmark is down about 12 per cent for the year.

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“The market sentiment is relatively positive. The biggest risk for the Hong Kong market is still the rebound of local Covid-19 cases,” said Alan Li, portfolio manager at investment management firm Atta Capital.

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