Alibaba, Nio Rise Over 1%: Hang Seng Rebounds On Easing COVID-19 Curbs In China

Hong Kong stocks opened in the green on Thursday morning, with the benchmark Hang Seng gaining over 1.5%, as investors and traders cheered the easing COVID-19 restrictions in China, which signaled a reopening of the economy. The government announced that work and local production cannot be stopped unless an area is considered high-risk.

Shares of Alibaba and Nio rose over 1.5%. Meituan and Li Auto stocks rose over 2.5% in morning trade.

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Macro News: China's exports and imports narrowed at their steepest pace in at least 2.5 years in November, dragged by sluggish demand, COVID-led production disruptions and a property slump, reported Reuters.

China should change its official name for COVID-19 to indicate the virus' mutation, and patients with light symptoms should be permitted to quarantine at home, said a leading authority on traditional Chinese medicine, according to Reuters.

Senior Chinese officials are discussing an economic growth target for 2023 of around 5%, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussion.

Company News: Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. BYDDF BYDDY is thinking about building a battery plant in the U.S. but doesn’t currently plan on selling its electric cars there, reported Bloomberg citing a top executive.

U.K.-based INEOS and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation SNPMF, known as Sinopec, have announced a new joint venture agreement that will see INEOS acquire a 50% share in the existing Tianjin Nangang Ethylene Project from Sinopec.

Top Gainers and Losers: Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited and Meituan are the top gainers on the Hang Seng index, having risen over 4% and 2%, respectively. Lenovo Group Limited and CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited are the top losers, having shed over 0.8% each.

Global News: U.S. futures traded in the red on Thursday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures lost 0.18% while the Nasdaq futures shed 0.41%. The S&P 500 futures were trading lower by 0.31%.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Australia’s ASX 200 was down 0.7%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.87% lower while China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.08%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.9%.

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