Stocks rocketed on Thursday as a relief rally spread through markets after Donald Trump paused crippling tariffs on US partners, with Chinese investors even brushing off his decision to ramp up duties on Beijing to 125 percent.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up 2.06 percent at 20,681.78.
That marks a third day of gains after it collapsed more than 13 percent on Monday in its worst day since 1997 during the Asian financial crisis.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.76 percent to end at 7,668.38, and the Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 2.66 percent to end at 4,813.74.
The across-the-board gains by markets tracked a blistering performance on Wall Street as the US president said he would delay for 90 days measures announced last week that set off a firestorm on trading floors and sparked global recession fears.
Trump said he would keep in place a basic levy of 10 percent on dozens of countries but upped the ante in his brutal trade war with superpower rival China by hitting it even harder after it retaliated.
China's own 84 percent retaliatory measures kicked in on Thursday, later saying that the United States "goes against the whole world" with the measures.
Tokyo's Nikkei surged more than 9 percent, while Taipei's 9.3 percent gain was its best rise on record – after Monday's 9.7 percent drop represented its worst fall.
Shanghai gained more than one percent.
The Hong Kong and Shanghai markets have been given extra support by optimism that China will unveil fresh stimulus to support its economy.
Seoul, Singapore, Jakarta, Sydney, Saigon and Bangkok climbed between four and 6.6 percent. Manila and Wellington were also well in the positive territory.
In early trade, Paris and Frankfurt cruised more than six percent higher and London rallied more than four percent.
Tech firms were the standout performers, with Sony, Sharp, Panasonic and SoftBank chalking up double-digit gains, while airlines, car makers and casinos also enjoyed strong buying. (AFP/Xinhua)
HK stocks keep rising despite Trump's China escalation
2025-04-10 HKT 17:26
