Hong Kong Stock Market Close: Hang Seng Index Surges 2.79% Back Above 25,000 Points, New Consumer Leaders Rally Sharply, Oil and Coal Decline Alone

Gelonghui March 24 | Geopolitical risk easing combined with leading consumer company performance drives risk market sentiment higher. The Hong Kong stock market further expanded its gains in the afternoon, with the Hang Seng Index rising 2.79% to surpass 25,000 points. The State-owned Enterprise Index and Hang Seng Tech Index increased by 2.31% and 2.51%, respectively. All three major indices experienced a strong rebound, ending a three-day losing streak and sweeping away recent gloom.

Specifically, large-cap tech stocks, which serve as market barometers, collectively recovered, with Meituan and Tencent rising over 3%, Alibaba up 2.9%, Baidu and Kuaishou up over 2%. Performance-driven new consumer stocks, such as Lao Pao Gold, Mixue Group, and Pop Mart, saw significant gains, boosting market bullishness to some extent. Heavyweight financial stocks (banks, insurance, securities) all rose, further lifting the market. Gold stocks, which had fallen sharply yesterday, rebounded collectively, leading to a rally in non-ferrous metals stocks, with Chifeng Gold leading the gains. Airlines, which had been declining, finally saw a rebound. Catering stocks, storage concept stocks, photovoltaic stocks, shipping stocks, power stocks, and military industry stocks all rose.

On the other hand, geopolitical risk easing led to most oil and coal stocks declining, with Yanchang Petroleum International dropping over 11%, showing the weakest performance. Lithium battery leader CATL, which had been rising to new highs, fell against the trend by 2.57%. (Gelonghui)