Alibaba, Nio Rise Over 2%: Hong Kong Stocks Firm As Easing Developer Regulations Outweigh China COVID-19 Protests

Hong Kong stocks opened higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Hang Seng rising 3% in morning trade, despite continuing unrest in China over Xi Jinping’s strict COVID-19 restrictions. Investors and traders weighed in some good news on the Chinese regulatory front that intends to support the property sector. Market participants are keenly eyeing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Wednesday.

“Our rule-based estimates for the US federal funds rate (FFR) indicate this year’s aggressive rate hikes have brought policy rates into line with neutrality, but further hikes are needed to bring inflation back to target,” ANZ Research said in a note.

Shares of Li Auto jumped over 6% in morning trade. Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com rose over 4%.

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Macro News: China’s finance ministry said on Monday it will extend tariff exemptions on some imported products from the United States until May 31, 2023, reported Reuters.

China Securities Regulatory Commission has said some multi-year restrictions on stock sales by developers will be removed to support the “stable and healthy” development of the sector, reported Bloomberg.

Company News: Pinduoduo Inc PDD reported third-quarter revenue growth of 65% year-on-year at $4.99 billion, beating the consensus of $4.31 billion.

NIO's next-generation models will enter the U.S., reported CnEVPost citing local media outlet LatePost.

Top Gainers and Losers: Country Garden Services Holdings Company Limited and Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited are the top gainers among Hang Seng constituents. Hengan International Group Company Limited and CLP Holdings Limited are among the top losers.

Global News: U.S. futures traded in the green on Tuesday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures were up 0.03% while the Nasdaq futures gained 0.18%. The S&P 500 futures were trading higher by 0.14%.

Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, Australia’s ASX 200 was up 0.11%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.47% lower while China’s Shanghai Composite index gained 1.27%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.34%.

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