Hong Kong's stock market rebounded Friday as falling crude oil prices and robust performance in the technology sector provided a much-needed relief to investors, according to Timothy Pope, an analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).
The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.60 percent to close at 24,750.78 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.61 percent to 8,225.40 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index went up 2.20 percent to 4,405.50 points.
Pope observed that regional markets have largely shaken off their initial reaction to the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike earlier this week.
"Around the region, the markets seem to have rebounded from the initial reaction to the Fed's rate hike this week pretty convincingly. That's thanks in part to a wave of relief caused by a dropping crude oil prices today. The Hang Seng climbed 0.6 percent at the close, leaving it about 0.2 percent lower for the week. The Fed hike itself had also been largely priced in by the time it happened. By the beginning of this week, the markets were already treating a rate rise as the overwhelming base case," said Pope.
He noted that technology stocks, alongside optimism surrounding Hong Kong's newly released five-year plan for economic and social development, served as the primary engines behind the rally.
"Chinese tech names were leading the gains in Hong Kong today as well, just like they were on the mainland. Lenovo, Hua Hong Semiconductor and Kuaishou were all rising. There was also a bit of interest in property names in Hong Kong after Hong Kong's first official five-year plan came out this week and put housing supply and the Northern Metropolis plan pretty high on the agenda," said the analyst.
Hong Kong stocks rebound as falling oil prices, tech rally offset Fed rate hike concerns
Russia on Friday said its forces launched one massive strike and 11 group strikes against Ukraine in the past week, while Ukrainian authorities reported on the same day that Russian airstrikes from Thursday evening to the early morning of Friday damaged energy infrastructure in several parts of the country.
According to a report by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the 12 strikes hit Ukrainian defense industry enterprises, logistics centers, power and transport infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, production and storage facilities of cruise missiles, ground robotic systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, ammunition depots, and temporary deployment areas of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries.
Additionally, multiple Ukrainian port facilities used to receive, store and distribute military cargo were disabled, the report said.
Russian air defense systems also shot down one guided aerial bomb, four Flamingo long-range cruise missiles, six Neptune long-range cruise missiles, two U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, and 5,315 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles in the past week, according to the report.
Ukraine's Air Force said in a social media post on Friday that Russian forces launched 227 attack drones into Ukraine overnight from Thursday evening to Friday morning. As of 8:00 Friday, Ukrainian air defense and electronic warfare units had shot down or suppressed 196 of the drones, while 22 sites across Ukraine came under attack.
The Kiev Regional Military Administration said on the same day that residential buildings and energy infrastructure in the region were hit by airstrikes, leaving three people injured. The Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration also reported sustained Russian air assaults on the region overnight, resulting in damage to local energy infrastructure.
Russia claims 12 strikes in past week, Ukraine reports damaging of energy facilities
