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Hong Kong stocks end week with gains after ‘groundbreaking’ agreements on Covid-19 vaccine shots
- Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 per cent, but recorded a weekly loss of 1.2 per cent
- CNOOC led pack among blue chips, rebounding 6.1 per cent after falling in five previous sessions
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Hong Kong stocks rose on the last day of the week, with sentiment receiving a boost after the city’s authorities signed “groundbreaking” deals to buy Covid-19 vaccine shots, but gains were capped by rising coronavirus cases and escalating US-China tensions that weighed on the market throughout the week.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 per cent to 26,505.87, but ended the week 1.2 per cent lower after declining three days this week. It was also the biggest weekly drop in more than a month.
The Shanghai Composite fell 0.8 per cent, taking its loss for the week to 2.8 per cent – its largest weekly decline in more than two months.
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On Friday afternoon, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced that the city had reached “groundbreaking” agreements with Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers Sinovac and Pfizer, securing 15 million shots, the first 2 million of which could be available as early as January.
However, Hong Kong has recorded a surge in coronavirus cases, with over 100 confirmed cases on Thursday, marking the third day in a row the city reported a triple-digit number. The city has also tightened social distancing restrictions, and passed legal framework allowing authorities to lockdown parts of the city hit by Covid-19 for up to seven days.
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