HK stocks end day up in relief at US tariffs ruling
The Hang Seng Index closed trading for the day up 315.07 points, or 1.35 percent, at 23,573.38 on news of the US court's move to block the Trump tariffs. File photo: RTHK
Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong stocks ended for the day on the front foot on Thursday as sentiment improved after a US trade court blocked President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, which had weighed on global trade and roiled financial markets.
Key Chinese stock indexes snapped a five-day losing streak, while the US dollar rallied and gold sank, as risk appetite sharply improved following the court decision.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 315.07 points, or 1.35 percent, at 23,573.38, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 1.37 percent to 8,559.71 and the Hang Seng Tech index jumped 2.46 percent at 5,301.92.
The gains across a broad swathe of markets came after a US trade court blocked Trump's tariffs from going into effect in a sweeping ruling that found he overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from US trading partners.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.7 percent at 3,363.45, while the blue-chip CHI 300 was up 0.59 percent at 3,858.70. Both indexes booked their first daily gain since May 21.
The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 1.4 percent and the start-up board Chi Next Composite index was higher by 1.368 percent.
However, gains in Chinese shares were capped as uncertainty around bilateral relations between Washington and Beijing lingered, traders and analysts said.
"The ruling gives an interim boost to risk sentiment which saw US equity futures, bond yields and the dollar higher," said Frances Cheng, head of FX and rates strategy at OCBC Bank.
"Development on tariff and trade relations remains fluid. Investors may be reluctant to load heavy positions on either side of the trade."
"We don't believe that the latest ruling reduces any uncertainty related to tariff developments," said David Chaos, global market strategist for Asia Pacific at Investcorp.
"It's possible that we could see Trump escalate trade tensions further in response to the court's ruling against him."
The US has ordered companies that offer software used to design semiconductors to stop selling to China without first getting an export license, sources said.
However, Beijing-based Empyrean Technology, considered to be China's primary alternative to US giants like Cadence, Synopses, and Siemens in the electronic design automation market, jumped 14.7 percent.
A sub-index tracking Chinese semiconductor and equipment companies ended 2.1 percent higher.
In Tokyo, Japan's Nikkei ended trade at the highest point in more than two weeks on news of the US ruling, while a weaker yen and a rally in chip-related stocks also supported the benchmark index.
The Nikkei climbed 1.88 percent to 38,432.98, its highest close since May 13.
The broader Topix rose 1.53 percent to 2,812.02. (Reuters/Xinhua)
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