Hong Kong stocks sustain 3-year-high level as headway on trade talks spurs optimism
stocks to the highest level in
more than three and a half years continued on Wednesday, as the US clinched a trade deal with Japan and scheduled a fresh round of talks with China next week, reducing concerns about trade conflicts damaging the global economy.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.6 per cent to 25,288.24 as of 10.06am local time, on track for the highest close since November 18, 2021. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 0.7 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both added 0.4 per cent.
China Life Insurance rallied 5.5 per cent to HK$22.10, and Baidu added 3.9 per cent to HK$91.30. Wuxi Biologics advanced 4.8 per cent to HK$29.35, and affiliate Wuxi AppTec rose 2.5 per cent to HK$96.25.
In a breakthrough in tariff negotiations with a key trading partner, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US and Japan had struck a trade deal that would impose a 15 per cent tariff on imports from the Asian country. The deal also included US$550 billion of Japanese investments in America, he said.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox Business that he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week for a third round of trade talks. A 90-day tariff pause between China and the US expires on August 12.
Other major Asian markets mostly traded higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 2.6 per cent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi retreated 0.2 per cent.
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