Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumps more than 1%; South Korea’s Kospi closes at record high
Asia-Pacific stocks jumped on Friday, with shares in Hong Kong and mainland China among the region’s biggest gainers.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.4% to close at 29,288.22.
Shares of Chinese tech firms listed in the city surged: Tencent rose 2.66%, Alibaba jumped 2.57% while Meituan soared 4.76%. The broader Hang Seng Tech index gained 2.44% to 8,235.63.
Mainland Chinese stocks closed higher, with the Shanghai composite up 1.15% to 3,607.56 while the Shenzhen component gained 1.482% to 15,003.85.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.51% to a new record close of 3,302.84.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.66% to close at 29,066.18 while the Topix index gained 0.8% on the day to 1,962.65.
Elsewhere, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia edged 0.45% higher to close at 7,308.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.96%.
XPeng launches Hong Kong offering
Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng on Friday announced the launch of its Hong Kong public offering. CNBC reported Wednesday that the firm had gotten the green light to carry out an IPO in the city.
XPeng said the offer price for the Hong Kong public offering “will not be more than HK$180.00 per share” ($23). The firm, already listed in the U.S., is set to carry out a dual primary listing that will subject it to the rules and oversight of both U.S. and Hong Kong regulators.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | NIKKEI | 29066.18 | 190.95 | 0.66 |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | HSI | 29288.22 | 405.76 | 1.40 |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | ASX 200 | 7308.00 | 32.70 | 0.45 |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | SHANGHAI | 3607.56 | 40.91 | 1.15 |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | KOSPI | 3302.84 | 16.74 | 0.51 |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | CNBC 100 | 11020.52 | 125.97 | 1.16 |
S&P 500 record close
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.58% to a new record closing high of 4,266.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 322.58 points to 34,196.82 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.69% to 14,369.71.
The gains stateside came after U.S. President Joe Biden announced the White House had reached an infrastructure deal after meeting with a bipartisan group of senators.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 91.738 as it struggled to recover to levels above 92.1 seen earlier this week.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.75 per dollar, still weaker than levels below 110.4 seen against the greenback earlier in the trading week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7598, above levels below $0.756 seen earlier this week.
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures rising 0.19% to $75.70 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.14% to $73.40 per barrel.