Advertisement
Hong Kong stock market
BusinessMarkets

Hong Kong stocks edge higher on cautious optimism over US debt-ceiling deal, but Chinese shares touch bear territory

  • A gauge tracking Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong slipped as much as 1 per cent on Tuesday, briefly entering bear-market territory
  • US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed confidence on Monday that the debt-ceiling deal will pass Congress

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
People relax near a stock ticker outside Exchange Square, the building housing the stock exchange in Hong Kong, on March 14, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE
Jiaxing LiandMia Castagnone
Hong Kong stocks edged higher in volatile trade as sentiment remained cautious while traders looked for signs of confidence in China’s economy and awaited the fate of the US debt-ceiling deal in Congress this week. A gauge tracking Chinese shares briefly entered bear market.
Advertisement

The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.2 per cent to 18,595.78 at the close of Tuesday trading, after sliding as much as 1.1 per cent earlier in the day and hitting a six-month low. The Tech Index added 1.5 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 per cent.

Tencent gained 1 per cent to HK$316.20, JD.com climbed 1.6 per cent to HK$130 and Alibaba strengthened 1.3 per cent to HK$78.80. Baidu surged 3.1 per cent to HK$123.40 after Beijing rolled out a new policy supporting the artificial-intelligence industry. EV maker BYD jumped 2.2 per cent to HK$234.40 after the company announced it will build another plant in Southeast Asia to tap the region’s market.

Limiting gains, gaming giant NetEase lost 0.3 per cent to HK$139.50 and WuXi Biologics declined 0.7 per cent to HK$41.70. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation lost 0.4 per cent to HK$19.92.

The tentative debt-ceiling agreement, which US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached on Sunday, is now set to move to the Congress. The pair expressed their confidence on Monday that a deal to suspend the debt ceiling will pass both houses in coming days, while traders remained cautiously optimistic about the market outlook after the deal.

Advertisement
loading
Advertisement