Hang Seng Rallies, Tech Sector Leads the Way

Hong Kong stocks rose during Friday's trading session (Sept 18), with the Hang Seng Index climbing approximately 214 points—or 0.9%—to around the 24,819 mark. Declines in oil prices and US government bond yields helped improve investor sentiment. The gains also followed an overnight recovery on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose by more than 1%.

Technology stocks were the primary drivers of the rally, mirroring similar gains in the US sector. MiniMax surged 7.3%, Z.AI rose 4.5%, and Lenovo climbed 2.7%. Meanwhile, SMIC gained 2.4% and Tencent rose 0.7%, further boosting the Hong Kong market.

Brent crude prices fell below US$104 per barrel after declining for three consecutive sessions, helping to ease concerns regarding inflation and high borrowing costs. Nevertheless, the market remains focused on Federal Reserve policy; the Fed recently raised interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%–4.00% and signaled the possibility of further hikes this year.