Beijing push against cut-throat prices lifts HK stocks
The Hang Seng Index closed on Friday up 326.71 points, or 1.33 percent, at 24,825.66. File photo: RTHK
Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks rose on Friday and closed the week higher, as Beijing's campaign against cut-throat price competition lifted investor sentiment.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended at 24,825.66, up 326.71 points or 1.33 percent.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.51 percent to end at 8,986.47 while the Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 1.65 percent to 5,538.83.
EV maker Li Auto has climbed around 15 percent this week, set for its biggest weekly gain since September 2024 after China's cabinet vowed on Wednesday to rein in what it described as "irrational" competition in the electric vehicle sector, pledging to step up cost investigations and enhance price monitoring.
Tech majors traded in Hong Kong rebounded more than 5 percent this week, partly buoyed by optimism after Nvidia said it would ramp up supply of Chinese-compliant H20 chips in the coming months and look to bring more advanced semiconductors to the world's second-largest technology market.
Shares of Alibaba rose 2.9 percent and were up 10 percent this week.
Up north, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.5 percent at 3,534.48 while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.37 percent higher at 10,913.84.
The combined turnover of these two indexes stood at 1.57 trillion yuan, up from 1.54 trillion yuan on Thursday.
Stocks related to rare earth permanent magnet and lithium mining led gains while stocks in the games and photovoltaic sectors suffered major losses.
The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.34 percent to close at 2,277.15.
China's blue-chip CSI300 Index has gained 1.1 percent this week, logging a fourth straight weekly rise, while the Hang Seng Index advanced 2.8 percent.
China's top leaders pledged to step up regulation of aggressive price-cutting by Chinese companies, as the world's second-biggest economy struggles to shake off persistent deflationary pressures.
UBS analysts expect China to intensify its campaign against involution competition over the coming quarters. (Reuters/Xinhua)
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