Alibaba, Nio Stocks Shoot Up: Hang Seng Index Tracks Firmer Wall Street Ahead of Powell’s Jackson Hole Speech

Hong Kong stocks opened higher on Friday, tracking an upbeat Wall Street session overnight, as investors braced for U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole summit due later in the day.

The benchmark Hang Seng rose 0.93% at the open, with shares of Alibaba, JD.com, Baidu and Li Auto surging over 3%.

Macro News: Beijing and Washington are conducting talks to avoid the delisting of about 200 companies from New York bourses, along with a plan to let American inspectors travel to Hong Kong to review audit documents of Chinese businesses, reported South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong’s exports declined 8.9% in July compared to a year earlier, dragged by disruptions along the border with China and sluggish demand across the global economy, reported Bloomberg. 

Imports fell 9.9% in the month. The trade deficit stood at HK$27.6 billion as against HK$68.5 billion deficit in June, the report said.

Also Read: PetroChina Posts Record H1 Profit On Surging Oil Prices: Here Are The Dividend Details

In response to China’s decision to suspend a few U.S. carrier flights over COVID-19 cases, the U.S. government said it will suspend 26 China-bound flights from the country by four Chinese carriers, reported Reuters. The list involves 19 China-bound flights from Los Angeles and seven China Eastern flights from New York, the report said.

Company News: Chinese oil giant PetroChina Company Limited PTR posted record profits in the first half of 2022, led by an increase in oil output coupled with a price rise over geopolitical tensions.

Warren Buffett-backed BYD Company Ltd BYDDF confirmed it will launch a new premium brand with the first model commencing at over RMB 1 million ($146,000), reported CnEVPost, citing local media.

Chinese e-commerce giant Meituan is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Friday.

Global News: U.S. futures were trading lower on Friday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures were down 0.11%, while the Nasdaq futures lost 0.14%. The S&P 500 futures were down 0.14%.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.73%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.89%, while China’s Shanghai Composite index was up 0.19% and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.51%.