HK, mainland stocks rise driven by tech, automobile firms

Hong Kong and China stocks rose on Thursday, with tech and auto shares leading gains, shrugging off threats of new car tariffs from the United States.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was up 0.4 percent at 23,578 points, marking a second consecutive day of growth. The indicator once climbed as high as 23,865.

The Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.3 percent to close at 5,589 points.

The main board turnover was HK$239.64 billion.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.15 percent, closing at 3,373. The Shenzhen Component Index gained 24 points, closing at 10,668.

China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index gained 0.3 percent.

BYD (1211) stock climbed 2.26 percent to HK$407.40 while Nio (9866) lost 5.1 percent, closing at HK$32.55 per share. US President Donald Trump earlier announced plans for long-promised 25 percent tariffs on automotive imports.

Pop Mart International (9992) climbed 9.24 percent to HK$153.70.

ENN Energy (2688) once surged 17 percent before closing 11 percent higher after its major shareholder announced a privatization offer, making it the best-performing blue chip stock.

On the other end was Xiaomi (1810), which dropped by more than 4 percent, becoming the worst-performer.

REUTERS and STAFF REPORTER