Hong Kong stocks rose for a second straight day, rebounding from an oversold streak even as sentiment elsewhere has been affected by the Omicron coronavirus variant. The imminent reopening of the city’s borders with mainland China also buoyed investor sentiment. The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.6 per cent to 23,788.93 on Thursday, after losing as much as 0.6 per cent in early trading. The Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.7 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.1 per cent. “The rebound happened due to an extreme oversold streak of the Hong Kong market lately,” said Edison Pun, senior market analyst at Saxo Markets. The city’s benchmark gauge sank to a 14-month low earlier this week, before bouncing back on Wednesday. Mainland property developers led the index gainers. Country Garden advanced 4.1 per cent to HK$7.10, while China Overseas Land and China Resources Land climbed at least 2.5 per cent. “The Omicron variant and concerns of the Fed speeding up tapering are bearish to the market. However, it is over-digested already so markets should gradually recover,” said Pun. Stocks rebounded as the index’s price-to-book ratio dipped below one for a fifth day, according to Bloomberg data, a sign that they are trading below their intrinsic asset values. It is the longest streak since May 2020. Market sentiment was further lifted as Hong Kong authorities on Thursday announced the launch date of a Covid-19 health code system , inching closer towards the gradual reopening of borders. The app will launch next week, allowing travellers to cross the border to Guangdong province and Macau without having to undergo quarantine. Meanwhile, rumours that Beijing would close a loophole that tech firms relied on to list abroad hammered Chinese technology stocks. China’s securities watchdog denied it on Wednesday, but Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of this newspaper, suffered, declining 2.5 per cent to its lowest this year. Casino stocks continued to weigh on the market after the weekend arrest of Alvin Chau Cheok-wa, the ex-head of Macau’s biggest casino junket operator, Suncity Group Holdings. Macau’s gaming regulator confirmed on Wednesday that its casinos had temporarily closed all of the VIP gaming rooms of a private company linked to Chau. Suncity plunged as much as 20 per cent on Thursday, even after announcing a day earlier that Chau had stepped down from all positions in the company. Suncity’s shares were suspended from trading on Monday and Wednesday. Sands China shed 2.3 per cent, while Wynn Macau retreated 1.4 per cent. NetEase’s music streaming company, Cloud Village, opened flat on the first morning of trading in Hong Kong, but later slipped 2.5 per cent to close at HK$199.9. On the mainland, Ningbo Joy Intelligent Logistics Technology, which produces automobile packaging products, surged 166 per cent to 57.90 yuan on its debut. Major markets in Asia were mixed. Equities rose 1.6 per cent in South Korea, but fell 0.7 per cent in Japan and 0.2 per cent in Australia.