Hong Kong stocks opened in the green on Friday, taking cues from Wall Street where major indices gained following clarity on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy path. China’s slower-than-expected consumer price inflation rise also lifted sentiments.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose over 2% in the morning session. Shares of Alibaba, Nio and XPeng shot up over 2%.
| Stock | Movement |
|---|---|
| Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) | 2.52% |
| JD.com Inc (NASDAQ:JD) | 2.89% |
| Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) | 2.87% |
| Tencent Holdings Ltd. (OTC:TCEHY) | 1.39% |
| Meituan (OTC:MPNGF) | 4.61% |
| Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO) | 5.07% |
| XPeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV) | 3.45% |
| Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) | 1.77% |
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank remained strongly committed to controlling inflation, adding that there was hope it can be done without the "very high social costs." On Thursday, the European Central Bank hiked its rate by an unprecedented 75 basis points.
Macro News: The Chinese city of Chengdu extended a lockdown for a majority of its over 21 million residents on Thursday to stem a COVID-19 outbreak, while millions of people from other parts of the country were told to avoid travel in upcoming Holidays, reported Reuters.
China's consumer prices increased at a slower-than-expected pace in August in the wake of heatwaves and COVID-19 flare-ups, while producer inflation eased to the lowest since February 2021, reported Reuters, citing official data. CPI rose 2.5% year on year, compared with a 2.7% growth in July.
Company News: Lenders of Chinese developer Evergrande Group (OTC: EGRNF) have appointed a receiver this week to seize its Hong Kong headquarters, reported Reuters, citing sources. This comes at a time when the world's most indebted developer struggles to emerge from its debt crisis.
Top Gainers and Losers: Country Garden Services Holdings Company Ltd and China Resources Land Ltd were the top gainers on the Hang Seng, rising over 8% and 4%, respectively, in opening trade. CLP Holdings Ltd and CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd were the only two losers among the top 30 constituents.
Global News: U.S. futures traded in the green on Friday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures were up 0.21% while the Nasdaq futures gained 0.46%. The S&P 500 futures rose 0.28%.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.44%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.49%, while China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 0.26%. South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.33%.
