China, HK stocks advance, driven by biotech and rare earth shares
HONG KONG: China and Hong Kong stocks extended gains on Wednesday, supported by a rally in biotech and rare earth shares and hopes that a call between the US and China would cool trade tensions.
At the close, both China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4%.
Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was up 0.6%. Tech giants listed in Hong Kong also gained 0.6%.
Hang Seng Healthcare Index led the gains throughout the day, closing 3.2% higher, as investors bet on earnings growth in innovative drug makers.
In A-shares, an index tracking shares of Hong Kong brokers advanced 2.7%, 5G communications stocks rose 2.5%, while CSI Rare Earth Industry Index gained 2.2%.
The export of rare earths has been thrust into the spotlight in the US-China trade negotiations.
Trump has previously signaled that China's slow pace of easing the critical mineral export ban represents a violation of the Geneva agreement.
Analysts say tariff uncertainties and US debt issues will continue to roil markets.
'(Trade) expectations are unstable, economic disturbances are still large, and the macro environment continues to be under pressure,' analysts at Cinda Futures said in a note, expecting mainland A-shares to remain rangebound in the near term.
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump said that he likes President Xi but added that the Chinese president is very tough and 'extremely hard' to make a deal with.
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