Hong Kong stocks climb to eight-month high as Geely Auto brings market rally to 10 per cent in November

Geely Auto rose to a two-year high on Daimler engine venture, WuXi Biologics surrendered some gains from a stock split

US stock exchange regulator sustains pressure on Chinese companies with comply-or-delist auditing rules

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The Hang Seng Index reaches an eight-month high a powerful run in Geely Auto stock to a level not seen since June 2018. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 11:25am, 18 Nov 2020Updated: 5:41pm, 18 Nov 2020

Hong Kong stocks rose for a third day after Geely Auto reached the highest level in two years on the back of an engine venture with its German partner while markets around the region held to this week’s record run.

The Hang Seng Index advanced 0.5 per cent to 26,544.29 at the close of trading, taking the rally this month to 10 per cent. Stock gauges in mainland China were mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent. The ChiNext technology board in Shenzhen shed 1.4 per cent.

Geely Auto led gainers in Hong Kong, with a 6.9 per cent to HK$22.55, a level not seen since June 2018. German car manufacturer Daimler announced on Tuesday that it will work with the Chinese automaker to build the next-generation combustion engines for hybrid vehicles.

The tie-up came on the back of high-flying stock performance of Chinese new energy car makers this year as sales in the world’s largest auto market improved. It provided a shot in the arm for the Hang Seng Index as vaccine-related impact diminished.

Swire Pacific added 5.9 per cent to HK$46.80 and China Mengniu Dairy increased 2.7 per cent to HK$41.55. Among top losers, WuXi Biologics slumped 2 per cent to HK$78.85 after a one-into-three stock split pushed the shares to a record on Tuesday. China Mobile down 1.1 per cent to HK$46.90. as Chinese telcos continue to lose favour with investors over Trump’s latest executive order on November 12.

“News on vaccines triggered rotation,” said Alex Wong, director at Ample Finance Group. “It will not be as a drastic shift as last week, but investors are reshuffling their portfolio at an acceptable level.”