SHANGHAI: China stocks rebounded on Thursday, while Hong Kong shares jumped after a seven-session losing streak, as investors bought the dip amid expectations for policy easing.

The blue-chip CSI 300 Index added 0.6% and the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.3% at market close.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index roughly jumped 1.3% each.

Asian stocks rose on Thursday ahead of US inflation data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s thinking on rate cuts, while the crypto world got a boost after exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to track bitcoin were approved in the United States.

Foreign investors bought roughly 4.2 billion yuan ($586.60 million) of Chinese shares via the Stock Connect on the day, the biggest daily inflow in two weeks.

Investor sentiment still remained weak due to a lack of evidence that China’s economy is improving. Investors await trade, inflation and credit data in the coming days to gauge the strength of the recovery.

Market participants are also expecting China’s central bank to cut policy rates as early as this month.

Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura, said the People’s Bank of China is quite likely to cut its benchmark lending rates next Monday. Shares in artificial intelligence, defense security and new energy rose roughly 2.5% each, while anime comic gaming companies climbed 4.3%.

In Hong Kong, tech giants surged 2.2%, with food-delivery giant Meituan up 5.4%. Shares of digital assets and crypto exchange operator BC Technology Group Ltd jumped 11.9%, tracking global cryptocurrency stocks higher after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first US-listed ETFs to track bitcoin.—Reuters