HSI maintains three-year high, propelled by tech

Hong Kong stocks briefly jumped over 900 points on Wednesday, hitting a three-year high as the tech rally resumed on a renewed artificial intelligence push.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed at 23,787 points, 753 points or 3.27 percent higher, with a main board turnover of HK$370.13 billion.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 293 points, or 3.45 percent, to 8,792 while the Tech Index gained 254 points, or 4.47 percent, to 5,953.

Tech stocks led the rally with Tencent (0700) up 3.44 percent, Alibaba (9988) rising 4.82 percent, Meituan (3690) jumping 9.84 percent, Xiaomi (1810) closing 5.83 percent higher and hitting a record HK$56.30, JD.com (9618) gaining 8.45 percent, and Kuaishou Technology (1024) rising 3.94 percent.

State-owned China International Capital Corp (3908) is set to merge with China Galaxy Securities (6881), Reuters reported, in a deal that would result in the country’s third-largest brokerage with US$193 billion (HK$1.5 trillion) in assets. Shares of both companies rose 19.09 percent and 17.11 percent, respectively.

Shares in Budweiser Brewing Company APAC (1876) closed 10.46 percent up, following the company’s announcements for earnings and management change.

The beer maker reported a 14.8 percent year-on-year decline in net profit last year to US$726 million, but raised its final dividend by 7 percent to 5.66 US cents.

In the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,380, up 34 points or 1.02 percent, while the Shenzhen Component Index finished at 10,955, rising 101 points or 0.93 percent.

REUTERS and STAFF REPORTER