HK stocks regain lost ground amid turmoil in the West

Hong Kong stocks clawed back some early losses in the afternoon trading session, defying a global selloff fueled by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies that risk dragging the world’s largest economy into recession.

The local benchmark Hang Seng Index edged down 1.35 points to 23,782.14 at the close on Tuesday, having once slumped by more than 540 points during the morning trading session following an overnight market selloff in the United States and Europe.

It was up by over 70 points minutes before the close. The main board turnover was HK$307 billion.

The Hang Seng Tech Index reversed its earlier loss and gained 1.4 percent, hitting 5,967 points when the market closed in the afternoon.

Shares of Xiaomi (1810) and NetEase (9999) both rose around 2 percent.

Electric vehicle makers performed well with emerging auto brands Nio (9866) and Xpeng (9868), both rising more than 9 percent. Li Auto (2015) rose 2.26 percent, while Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology’s (9863) stock went up by 13.5 percent after recording its first-ever quarterly net income last quarter.

Chinese bubble tea giant Mixue (2097) jumped nearly 7 percent.

Financial stocks fell under pressure with HSBC (0005) falling 3.2 percent and BOC Hong Kong (2388) and Ping An Insurance (2318) both losing 1.6 percent.

The A-share market also gained ground in the afternoon, with the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index climbing 0.4 percent to 3,379.83 points.

STAFF REPORTER