Hong Kong stocks rise on hopes of US economic stimulus, vaccine roll-out

Name: First Covid-19 vaccine administered as US death toll passes 300,000
Uploaded: 2020-12-16T02:49:23.000Z
Duration: 1 min 56 s
Description: First Covid-19 vaccine administered as US death toll passes 300,000

Hang Seng Index gained 1 per cent on Wednesday, its biggest daily increase in more than a month

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical soared 8 per cent after securing 100 million doses of BioNTech vaccine for use in China

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The New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street. US benchmarks gained overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 1.1 per cent and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite climbing by 1.3 per cent. Photo: AFP

Martin Choi

Published: 10:49am, 16 Dec 2020Updated: 5:11pm, 16 Dec 2020

The Hong Kong markets rose on Wednesday amid hopes that an economic stimulus package will be agreed upon in the United States, as well as progress on vaccine roll-outs.

The Hang Seng Index gained 1 per cent to 26,460.29, its biggest daily increase in more than a month, after declining for two consecutive days. The Shanghai Composite, however, was little changed on the day, after slipping 0.1 per cent on Tuesday.

Hopes that a US$1.4 trillion US spending package could be hammered out this week increased after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited other top congressional leaders to meet late on Tuesday.

“The markets are wholeheartedly banking on that deal to provide the ultimate footbridge to the vaccine roll-outs,” said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at Axi.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday stated that the vaccine developed by Moderna was safe and effective for use on adults, positioning the drug for authorisation as soon as this week. The US also continued to expand the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Wall Street benchmarks gained overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1 per cent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.3 per cent.

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First Covid-19 vaccine administered as US death toll passes 300,000