Hong Kong stocks jump as vaccine results spur end-of-pandemic trades, Meituan and Alibaba slide on antitrust draft

Hang Seng Index rose 1.1 per cent to approach the previous peak on July 6 on Covid-19 vaccine hopes

Fosun Pharmaceutical, which co-developed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate, rallied while tech stocks plunged on China’s new antitrust draft

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A commuter wearing a protective mask stands in line at a bus stop in Hong Kong. Stocks are getting a jab of optimism as Pfizer unveils promising Covid-19 trial results. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 11:01am, 10 Nov 2020Updated: 11:45am, 10 Dec 2020

Hong Kong stocks advanced after US drug maker Pfizer said large-scale trials of its coronavirus vaccine showed it was more than 90 per cent effective in preventing infection. Chinese internet-related stocks crashed on concerns about antitrust regulations.

The Hang Seng Index rose 1.1 per cent to 26,301.48, the highest level since July 6. The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.4 per cent from a two-month high after a government report showed consumer prices grew in October at the slowest pace in 11 years.

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE are the first drug makers to release successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. They said tests so far have found no serious safety concerns, and expected to seek authorisation for emergency use in the US later this month.

Fosun Pharmaceutical, which co-developed the vaccine, rallied 14.2 per cent. The Chinese firm agreed in March to pay up to US$135 million for the exclusive right to commercialise it in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

“Investors have been patiently waiting for the news of any vaccine development breakthrough and last night this patience paid off,” said Tai Hui, chief market strategist for Asia at JP Morgan Asset Management. While it may be months away from mass deployment, “this offers a ray of hope that the market did not hesitate to take advantage of.”

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.95 per cent in its biggest one-day percentage gain since June 5 following the US presidential election outcome, while the S&P 500 rose 1.17 per cent. Tech-heavy Nasdaq fell by 1.5 per cent, hurting pandemic winners like Zoom, Netflix and Alibaba Group Holding.

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