HONG KONG: China and Hong Kong stocks rebounded from recent lows on Wednesday, as data showed a less sharp decline in industrial profits, while traders placed renewed bets that Beijing will roll out more supportive policies to counter risks of US tariffs and shore up the economy.
Industrial profits in October fell 10% from a year earlier, better than a 27.1% slump in September, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed.
The Shanghai Composite index closed up 1.53% at 3,309.78, its biggest one-day percentage gain in nearly three weeks to climb out from a five-week low. The blue-chip CSI 300 index was up 1.74%.
The defence sector rallied 3.5% and the tech sector jumped 3.4%, with chipmaker Cambricon Technologies surging by the 10% limit to a record high.
Stocks related to Huawei also rose after the tech giant launched a new premium model, looking to break away from US technology following US export curbs. Electronics product manufacturer Luxshare Precision jumped 5.3% and peer BOE Technology added 2.6%.
The Hang Seng Index jumped 2.4% to 19,615.07, its biggest one-day gain in more than a month, after briefly touching a two-month low earlier in the session.
Traders are now looking for more actions from Beijing to offset potential tariff risks, after they digested the news that US President-elect Donald Trump vowed to impose fresh tariffs on Chinese goods.
“With the potential threat of tariff hikes in 2025, it’s likely China’s policymakers would come up with further stimulus packages to counter downward economic growth pressure from domestic cyclical weakness and increased external uncertainty,” said Vis Nayar, chief investment officer at Eastspring Investments in Singapore.
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