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Hong Kong stocks extended a rally on Tuesday as investors continued to bet on easing US-China trade tensions. The Hang Seng Index rose 1.5 per cent to 26,241.50 as of 9.50am. The Hang Seng Tech Index surged 2.3 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index rose 0.4 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 per cent. Semiconductor Manufacturing International jumped 4 per cent to HK$74.65, smartphone camera-module maker Sunny Optical Technology Group added 3.8 per cent to HK$81.60, and China Life surged 5.8 per cent to HK$24.88. Making its trading debut, JST Group, a provider of software for enterprise resource planning in e-commerce, surged 22.6 per cent to HK$37.50. On the negative side, Chinese drug maker CSPC Pharmaceutical Group lost 1.8 per cent to HK$8.88, while Hansoh Pharmaceutical fell 1 per cent to HK$36.02 and China Shenhua Energy slipped 0.6 per cent to HK$40.94. Investors appeared willing to shrug off US President Donald Trump’s comment on Monday that he would impose a 155 per cent tariff on Chinese goods if trade negotiations between the two countries failed to reach an agreement. The threat came after tensions between the world’s two largest economies showed signs of easing over the weekend after Trump said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea. China on Monday reported mixed economic data, showing that the world’s second-largest economy still faces multiple challenges. Year-on-year growth in gross domestic product in the third quarter was slightly higher than expectations at 4.8 per cent, but was also the slowest pace this year. Household consumption continued to lose momentum in September, and new-home prices fell at the fastest rate in 11 months. Other major Asian markets all gained. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.5 per cent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.8 per cent.
