Hang Seng Index once surged 800 points, closing at 24,199, Alibaba rose 12 percent

The Hang Seng Index once surged 805 points to 24,302 points on Wednesday, led by tech heavyweights, bucking the broad sell-off across Asian markets over artificial intelligence concerns.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 702 points, or 2.99 percent, to 24,199 points at market close, delivering a market turnover of HK$375.84 billion.

Tech gauge increased by 4.97 percent to 4,731 points.

Alibaba (9988) surged 12.21 percent, leading the gain as the best-performing blue chip. It once rose as much as 13.8 percent intraday – its largest single-day gain since last September. Bloomberg reported that analysts attributed the rise to reports of China's plan to restrict overseas access to its top-tier AI, which would benefit Alibaba's AI business. Preliminary forecasts for Alibaba's fiscal 2027 first quarter earnings show solid e-commerce profits returning to growth.

Xiaomi (1810) gained 9.52 percent. The company's official Weibo account released a poster titled "SKYNOMAD" on Wednesday –a new name and its brand logo – sparking rumors of its next large-size SUV.

In other tech stocks, Kuaishou (1810) rose 8.7 percent, Lenovo (0992) rose 6.9 percent, Baidu (9888) increased 6.33 percent, NetEase (9999) rose 4.19 percent, Tencent (0700) rose 3.82 percent, and Meituan (3690) rose 3.25 percent.

It is worth noting that, in addition to the rebound in old-tech stocks, previously battered new-tech stocks also bounced back. Knowledge Atlas Technology (2513) experienced a lock-up expiration on Wednesday but received endorsements from multiple institutional investors, who remain optimistic and plan to hold the stock long term. The stock rose against expectations, surging 18 percent at midday. Also, Minimax (0100) rose 2.8 percent. Chip stock Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (0981) also gained, rising 3.2 percent. 

Bank of China (3988), BOC Hong Kong (2388), and China Construction Bank (0939) rose 5.6 percent, 5.24 percent, and 5.75 percent, respectively. HSBC (0005) slid 0.91 percent.

WH Group (0288) extended its losses from the early trading session, falling 5.43 percent and making it the worst-performing blue chip. CATL (3750) dropped 3.68 percent. Wuxi Biologics (2269) and WuXi AppTec (2359) fell 3.05 percent and 2.59 percent.

In the mainland, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index slid 0.49 percent, or 19 points, to 3,970 points. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange Composite Index fell 1.87 percent to 14,939 points.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.15 percent to close at 67,471 points, and South Korea's KOSPI closed down 5.35 percent at 7,246.79, its lowest level since May 20. Semiconductor stocks led the declines after U.S. chip shares sank overnight on concerns that AI-related spending could moderate. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also saw their shares fall by 6.3 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.

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