The sector was a standout on a day the city’s benchmark slipped 0.2 per cent.

Mainland stocks gained with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.5 per cent. Asia-Pacific stocks saw modest declines, as investors weighed plans by the US, New Zealand and other countries to gradually reopen their economies and awaited a flood of earnings by companies reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, oil prices tumbled to a 21-year low as output cuts have been insufficient to offset plunging demand, boosting the share price of Chinese airlines in Hong Kong. Also important to traders was a cut by China of its April one-year and five-year prime loan rates in an attempt to encourage borrowing in an economy weighed down by the coronavirus. The cut was in line with expectations.

“A dramatic rebound in US equities has left many investors scratching their heads due to the temporal mismatch between financial markets and the real economy,” said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp.

“ … In two short weeks, equity markets went from pricing the depth of a global depression to being increasingly focused on pricing a short duration recession again,” he said.

Hong Kong’s main benchmark slipped into a bear market in March, but has regained some of its losses since then, with volatility declining and positive sentiment overall outweighing negative on the virus. The virus, which has infected more than 165,000 people around the globe, is expected to dominate market sentiment globally until effective testing, treatment and vaccines are widely available. Some sectors, however, will struggle more than others to come back, including travel and retail.

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4 per cent, while the tech-heavy Kosdaq gained 0.6 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2 per cent, as the country’s exports declined 11.7 per cent in March from a year earlier, while imports fell 5 per cent, Ministry of Finance data showed.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 fell 2.5 per cent, as more than 150 economists warned the government against easing social distancing rules in an open letter, Reuters reported. Unemployment is expected to hit a 16-year high of about 10 per cent, as the country battles its worst recession in decades.

New Zealand’s NZX 50 Gross Index slipped 0.2 per cent. The country will ease its nationwide lockdown next week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. Most businesses – with the exception of those that involve face-to-face contact – can start to reopen, allowing roughly half a million people to return to work.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Straits Times Index retreated 0.3 per cent. The country reported a record jump in cases, taking its total to 8,014 infections, the highest in Southeast Asia.

The city state has seen a surge in local transmissions that has largely affected the migrant worker community, 323,000 of whom live in crowded dormitories with 12 to 20 men in each room.

The government began mass testing foreign workers, made masks compulsory and ordered a partial lockdown in a bid to contain the outbreak. It has committed S$59.9 billion (US$42 billion) – amounting to 12 per cent of GDP – to help businesses and households through the crisis.

Stocks performing well on the mainland were tied to infrastructure and elevators, on anticipated policies to boost road and other construction projects and housing.

China on Friday reported its gross domestic product plunged 6.8 per cent in the first quarter year-on-year, underscoring the virus’ wreckage.

Pictet Wealth Management predicts a painful recovery ahead for the world’s second-largest economy due to the collapse of external demand and sluggishness in the service sector as people avoid large gatherings or close customer interactions. It expects China’s economy to grow 1.2 per cent for the year, it said in a fresh note.