Hong Kong stocks advance as investors turn to China amid Middle East uncertainty
Hang Seng Index extends rally as regional markets find support amid rising tensions between the US and Iran
On the mainland, major benchmarks edged down after rallies, with the CSI 300 Index falling 0.4 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index dropping 0.3 per cent.
Leading the gainers, e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding jumped 5.7 per cent to HK$169, its highest since October 30, amid expectations for its Qwen app product event, scheduled at 10am on Thursday. Short-video platform Kuaishou Technology rose 5.5 per cent to HK$82.75, its highest since October, after announcing its video-generation AI product had reached US$20 million in monthly revenue in December. Search-engine giant Baidu rose 1.9 per cent to HK$145.10.
Limiting gains, online travel-booking agency Trip.com slumped 6.5 per cent to HK$569.50, while food-delivery service provider Meituan slipped 3.2 per cent to HK$101.50 and e-commerce and logistics giant JD.com lost 1.3 per cent to HK$115.90.