Tencent, NetEase push Hong Kong stocks higher as investors shrug off Fed rate rise concerns
- The Federal Reserve will hold its first rate-setting meeting of the year tonight
- Chinese oil producers PetroChina and CNOOC rise as crude price hovers near a seven-year high
Hong Kong stocks led by tech giants snapped a two-day losing streak, shaking off jitters of a hawkish Federal Reserve. Oil-related stocks rose on geopolitical tensions.
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 per cent to 24,289.90 at the close of Wednesday trading. The Tech Index appreciated 0.8 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 per cent.
“Overall, positive factors for the market remain intact, such as policy easing in China. Valuations are also relatively low, thus the slight rebound,” said Mark Po, analyst at China Galaxy International Securities.
“Unless there is a drastic change in policy direction [in China and the US] I expect Hong Kong markets to do better,” he added.
Investors are awaiting clues from the Fed, which will hold its first rate-setting meeting of the year tonight. The Hang Seng Index clawed back this week’s losses of US$96 billion, roiled by a hawkish Fed. It is now on track for a 3.6 per cent monthly gain, among the top performers across major world indices.
Oil companies gained after crude prices rose over 2 per cent on Tuesday on concerns supplies could become tight because of Ukraine-Russia tensions. PetroChina and CNOOC rose at least 1.8 per cent. Sinopec gained 0.3 per cent.
