SHANGHAI: China’s major A-share indexes and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished trade at two-month closing highs on Wednesday on hopes for a demand recovery on easing COVID-19 restrictions, while new game publishing licenses lifted tech firms in Hong Kong.

At the close, the blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.97% at 4,219.81, its highest close since April 8.

The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.68% to 3,263.79, its highest close since April 6.

The CSI consumer staples sector led gains, rising 2.01%, while the financial sector sub-index added 0.62%, and the healthcare sub-index rose 1.89%.

Foreign investors lent support, with Refinitiv data showing inflows of more than 8.7 billion yuan through the Northbound leg of the Stock Connect programme.

The Hang Seng index closed up 482.92 points or 2.24% at 22,014.59, its strongest close since April 6. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 2.84% to 7,679.6.

The Hang Seng Tech index jumped 4.76%, with Bilibili Inc rising nearly 20% after China’s gaming regulator granted publishing licences to 60 games.

Analysts at BNP Paribas said equity investors were more optimistic about China’s growth stabilisation policies as COVID-19 lockdowns eased, while sounding a note of caution.

“Our economists expect the government to maintain the principle of dynamic zero-COVID, albeit revise the implementation to take account of the recent growth slowdown and minimise the economy impact,” they said.