Hong Kong’s benchmark index for tech stocks rose nearly 5% Thursday after three weeks of decline on the back of a record Wall Street rally overnight.
The Hang Seng Tech Index, a collection of the 32 largest technology companies in the region, rebounded after falling 26% since Feb. 17 when the index peaked at 10,945.2 points.
In Shenzhen, the tech-focused ChiNext board also climbed by 2.6% Thursday.
These gains follow the release of price data in the U.S. that has alleviated concerns about an inflation surge in the immediate future, though a rise is still on the horizon later this year due to global recovery spending.
The Federal Reserve has said it will not halt its $120 billion monthly asset purchases which have helped ease strain on markets during the pandemic.
In addition, market confidence was boosted by an auction of American Treasury debt Wednesday which saw investors buy up $38 billion in 10 year notes at a 1.52% yield. A second sale of 30 year bonds is expected to take place Thursday.
Across Asia, markets jumped at the news from across water, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.6%, while the South Korean Kospi rose over 2% and Shanghai’s Composite index gained 2.36%.
Despite Thursday’s reversal, Hang Seng’s Tech Index remained down 1.2% for the week and it closed at its lowest level in 2021 to date on Tuesday.
The index may soon grow to 33 companies as Chinese search engine Baidu Inc. prepares for a secondary listing later this week and plans on selling roughly 4% of overall shares, people familiar with the matter told Reuters Thursday.
The company is on track to raise at least $3 billion in the listing based on current prices, the news publisher reported.
