HK, mainland stocks open higher amid Nasdaq highs
The Hang Seng Index started the week 87 points, or 0.35 percent, higher at 24,946. File photo: RTHK
Regional stocks mostly gained on Monday, taking their cue from a buoyant Nasdaq Composite Index, which posted a second straight record on Friday amid optimism over artificial intelligence and less uncertainty over trade policy.
Investors are growing confident that President Donald Trump's constantly-changing US trade policy will not derail the surge in investment around artificial intelligence.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index opened 87 points, or 0.35 percent, higher at 24,946.
Across the border, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened up 0.05 percent at 3,637, while the Shenzhen Component Index opened 0.27 percent higher at 11,159.
Further afield, Australian shares rose to a record high earlier in the day as lithium stocks led index heavyweight miners higher following a report that battery manufacturer CATL had suspended production at a major Chinese mine for at least three months.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.2 percent at 8,827 by midday after hitting an all-time high of 8,852 earlier in the session. (Agencies/Xinhua)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump considers ‘major lawsuit' against Powell over renovations, again urges rate cut
US President Donald Trump said he is considering allowing a lawsuit to proceed against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the renovation of the central bank's headquarters, a project whose cost overruns have drawn scrutiny. Trump, in a social media post on Tuesday, resumed his criticism of the Fed chair over the central bank's decision to hold interest rates steady and again hammered Powell over the renovation work. 'The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable. Fortunately, the economy is sooo good that we've blown through Powell and the complacent Board,' Trump said. 'I am, though, considering allowing a major lawsuit against Powell to proceed because of the horrible, and grossly incompetent, job he has done in managing the construction of the Fed Buildings.' Trump did not specify which lawsuit he was referring to in his post. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Powell this year over the Fed's decisions to keep interest rates steady since its last cut in December. Renovation work continues at the US Federal Reserve building. Photo: AFP Policymakers have been cautiously monitoring the effects of Trump's wide-ranging tariffs on the world's biggest economy, as they mulled the right time to lower rates further.
RTHK
3 hours ago
- RTHK
EOC rues lack of family-friendly policies in firms
EOC rues lack of family-friendly policies in firms According to the study by the Equal Opportunities Commission, only about 10 percent has a family-friendly policy down in writing. Photo: RTHK The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) said there's a lack of family-friendly employment practices in Hong Kong. That finding came in a survey of 1,000 family members of employees and 400 human resources professionals in July and August last year. The study found that most family members want flexible hours, a five-day week and work-from-home arrangements for their family members. Executive director Ferrick Chu said that despite support from HR professionals for the former two measures, implementation still required endorsement from senior management. For leave that is beyond what's stated in the Employment Ordinance, HR professionals said that is not difficult to implement, he said, "as long as the employer agrees". Chu added that most of them say they aren't afraid of abuse as there are ways to handle such issues, such as asking for proof of need. Of companies in the study, only about 10 percent has a family-friendly policy down in writing. If they introduce a good policy, it may help to change the culture and practice, he said Chu added that the study can help companies gather information and adopt suitable policies, and that other institutions should conduct similar studies. "It is not something for the EOC to do alone, it's for the whole of society to support the measure, to change the culture."
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Quad alliance risks unravelling as Trump strains ties with India and Japan
Beijing must be watching with satisfaction as US President Donald Trump has, in less than 200 days, come close to unravelling one of the few foreign policy legacies of his first term: the fragile coalition countering China in the Indo-Pacific. Advertisement The rationale behind Trump's deliberate straining of ties with India and Japan – two of Washington's most vital regional partners in balancing Beijing – through tariffs, sanctions threats and incendiary rhetoric remains opaque, likely driven more by domestic political posturing than strategic coherence. Yet the damage is both tangible and potentially lasting, placing the strategic viability of the Quad –Washington's four-way military pact with Japan, India and Australia – under the most severe test since its revival in 2017. At the same time, it has bolstered perceptions among authoritarian regimes that the US is in terminal decline. Since April, Trump has slapped 25 per cent 'reciprocal tariffs' on India and threatened an additional 25 per cent in secondary sanctions over its continued imports of Russian oil, effectively raising duties to 50 per cent. While the US leader claimed on Monday that the steep tariffs had dealt a 'big blow' to Moscow's beleaguered economy, the move has plunged US-India relations to their lowest point since 1998, when Delhi conducted its nuclear tests and faced an international backlash. Advertisement Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who skilfully navigated relations with Trump during his first term and was among the first foreign leaders to visit the White House following Trump's return, was clearly taken aback by the tariffs and the US leader's overtures to India's arch-rival, Pakistan.
