Hong Kong shares rally as major financial, chip stocks advance at market close

Hong Kong shares rallied at market close on Tuesday, with financial shares HSBC (0005) and Standard Chartered (2888) jumping 4-5 percent, and Z.AI (2513) surging 11 percent.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index advanced 108 points, or 0.44 percent, to 24,557 points, delivering a full-day market turnover of HK$178 billion.

Financial shares such as HSBC and Standard Chartered gained 4.37 percent and 5.1 percent, while BOC Hong Kong (2388) rose 1.38 percent, AIA (1299) increased 1 percent, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388) rose 0.52 percent.

Tech shares broadly gained despite heavyweights Alibaba (9988) and Tencent (0700) falling 2.87 percent and 0.14 percent, respectively. Lenovo (0992) and Pop Mart (9992) rose 2.47 percent and 2.37 percent. CATL (3750) increased 2.22 percent, and Xiaomi (1810) edged up 1.66 percent.

On the tech-focused index, Shanghai Tianshu Zhixin Semiconductor jumped 15.5 percent as the best-performing constituent, while Z.AI and Minimax (0100) followed with gains of 11.11 percent and 10.11 percent.

Chipmakers also rallied, with Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor (1347) advancing 3.76 percent and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (0981) rising 2.61 percent.

Meanwhile, easing geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz weighed on oil majors. Petro China (0857) dipped 3.45 percent, CNOOC (0883) fell 2.57 percent, and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (0386) dropped  1.5 percent.

In the mainland, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index rose 2.93 points, or 0.08 percent, to 3,663 points, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Composite Index edged up 0.86 percent to 11,241 points.

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