Hong Kong: Stocks surge more than 3% at open

HONG Kong stocks rallied more than 3 per cent at the open on Thursday, extending the previous two days’ big gains, after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell indicated the bank will slow down its pace of interest rate hikes. The Hang Seng Index jumped 3.22 per cent, or 598.84 points, to 19,196.07. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.16 per cent, or 36.65 points, to 3,187.99, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange added 1.29 per cent, or 25.95 points, to 2,044.64. The big gains were in line with a rally across world markets as investors welcomed Powell’s comments that the US central bank would not lift borrowing costs by the bumper 75 basis points seen in the past four policy meetings. The advance extended a rally in Hong Kong and Shanghai that had already been propelled by hopes that China would begin to ease some of its strict Covid containment measures after widespread protests over the strategy, which has cost jobs and hit the economy hard. AFP