BYD, Meituan fuel tech surge in Hong Kong as Beijing rolls back Covid-19 curbs, HKEX unrattled by LME lawsuit

Hang Seng Index closed at a two-month high after China rolled back some of the Covid-19 restrictions in the capital

Bourse operator HKEX shrugged off early setback after metal traders filed a lawsuit for related to LME’s decision in March to cancel futures contracts on nickel

2-MIN READ2-MIN

An electronic screen displays the Hang Seng Index and other stoxk benchmarks in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 10:56am, 6 Jun 2022Updated: 4:54pm, 6 Jun 2022

Stocks in Hong Kong and mainland China rose after Beijing rolled back some of its Covid-19 restrictions while investors turned more upbeat on the market. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing was unrattled after metal traders sued its UK unit.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 2.7 per cent to 21,653.90 at the close of Monday trading, the highest level since April 8. The Tech Index jumped 4.6 per cent, the most since May 20, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 1.2 per cent.

Carmaker BYD surged 5.7 per cent to HK$300.60 while short-video platform operator Kuaishou rallied 5.1 per cent to HK$84. Alibaba Group Holdings jumped 5 per cent to HK$96.95. Food-delivery platform operator Meituan surged 9.9 per cent to HK$198.10 after revenue last quarter beat estimates while net loss was smaller than expected at 5.7 billion yuan (US$856.8 million).

Beijing reopened public transport service in the capital from Monday and let entertainment facilities resume business in most districts, the local government said. It will also allow restaurants to seat diners and companies to return workers to offices. China’s services industry improved in May, a private report showed.

“China is now putting in place measures as promised to stabilise growth and the market will continue to trend up” this month, said Yang Chao, an analyst at China Galaxy Securities. “Full resumption of production is key to a sustained rebound on stocks and corporate earnings.”

Investors including Amundi, Europe’s biggest money manager, see room to become more constructive on Chinese stocks because concerns about economic growth and earnings were already baked into beaten-down stock prices.