Hong Kong stocks rallied on Wednesday on bets Beijing will deploy more stimulus measures after data released during the day showed a manufacturing slowdown. The city’s biggest lender HSBC jumped to 10-week high on buy-back plan.
The Hang Seng Index jumped 2 per cent to end the day at 17,344.60, clawing its way back from three-month lows. The Tech Index climbed 3 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.1 per cent, the biggest advance in three months.
HSBC Holdings surged 4.6 per cent to HK$69.95, a 10-week high, after it announced a US$3 billion buy-back plan and better-than-expected earnings. Tencent jumped 2.4 per cent to HK$362.20, NetEase advanced 2.5 per cent to HK$146.20 and Alibaba added 1.4 per cent to HK$77.30, leading gains among tech heavyweights.
Factory activity in mainland China contracted for the third straight month, with the official PMI manufacturing index released on Wednesday dropping to 49.4 from…
