Alibaba, JD.com, WuXi Bio lead Hong Kong stock rebound on fund inflows, Fed rate focus

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Mainland investors were net buyers of HK$11.6 billion worth of Alibaba shares since it became an eligible component in the Stock Connect scheme this week

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An electronic ticker displays stock figures in Pudong’s Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai on August 14, 2024. Photo: Bloomberg

Jiaxing Li

Published: 11:07am, 12 Sep 2024Updated: 5:00pm, 12 Sep 2024

Hong Kong stocks climbed from a one-month low, joining a rally in Asia-Pacific markets amid bullish bets on global rate cuts. Alibaba Group Holding led tech leaders higher on signs of surging demand from mainland-based investment funds.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.8 per cent to 17,240.39 on Thursday, after sliding on Wednesday to the lowest level since August 9. The Tech Index advanced 0.7 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2 per cent to fresh eight-month low.

E-commerce leader Alibaba, which owns the Post, jumped 2.1 per cent to HK$83.20. Onshore investors were net buyers of HK$11.6 billion (US$1.49 billion) worth of its shares since Tuesday, when it became an eligible component of the Stock Connect scheme. Rival JD.com added 2.5 per cent to HK$104.40 and food delivery platform Meituan gained 2.8 per cent to HK$122.70.

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The Federal Reserve is expected to ease policy at its meeting next week, with some economists calling for jumbo rate cuts after Chairman Jerome Powell last month said that it was time to change course. The Fed has been on hold over the past nine meetings, after hiking 11 times from the “lift-off” in March 2022.

“Short-term Fed rate cut trades are heating up, potentially providing some structural opportunities in the market” though overall conditions may remain volatile, Dai Qing, a strategist at Changjiang Securities, said in a note on Thursday.

Elsewhere, WuXi Biologics rallied 3.4 per cent to HK$11.68 and its affiliate Wuxi AppTec appreciated 5.7 per cent to HK$36.35, recovering from a sell-off induced by a US move to ban their participation in government contracts.

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Today’s gain helped trim the Hang Seng Index’s decline this week to 1.2 per cent. The benchmark slumped 3 per cent last week after government reports showed China’s economic growth fell short of expectations. Global investors remained wary about geopolitical risks ahead of the US general election.