SINGAPORE – Hong Kong stocks led gains among major markets in Asia-Pacific on Friday, with Chinese tech shares in the city surging.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 2.05% in morning trade. Shares of Chinese tech companies listed in the city surged, with Alibaba up 9.37% and Meituan up 6.23% while Tencent gained 4.06%. The Hang Seng Tech Index trades 4.44% higher.
Mainland China shares are also higher, with Shanghai composite up 0.47% while Shenzhen Ingredients up 0.134%.
China’s factory activity saw rapid growth in December, with the official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) at 50.3 that month from 50.1 in the previous month. November, according to data released Friday by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
This was higher than analysts’ expectations, according to Reuters, who had expected the index to drop slightly from the 50 mark, stopping growth from contracting. PMI readings are sequential and represent a monthly expansion or contraction.
In other places, S&P / ASX 200 in Australia down 0.48%. From Singapore Straits Times Index 0.32% increase.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares traded 0.67% higher.
Markets in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore will close early on Friday for the last trading day of the year.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Japan and South Korea completed trading for the year and closed on Friday.
Besides the overnight state, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a six-day winning streak, dropping 90.55 points to 36,398.08. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 4,778.73 while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.16% to 15,741.56.
Currency and oil
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against its basket of silver, was at 96.012 after volatile trading this week, having dropped momentarily from above 96.2 to below 95.8.
The Japanese yen sits at $115.06/USD, well below the sub-114.6 seen against the greenback this week. The Australian dollar at $0.7252, still above the sub-$0.723 level seen earlier in the week.
Oil prices are lower in the morning Asian trading hours, by international standards Brent Crude Oil Futures down 0.91% to $78.81 a barrel. US crude oil futures down 0.96% to $76.25 per barrel.
