Alibaba, Tencent boost Hong Kong shares as Trump scraps investment ban

Hong Kong shares ended at a nearly one-year high on Thursday, after the Trump administration decided to scrap a planned investment ban involving Alibaba and Tencent, while reports of a possible big U.S. stimulus package also boosted sentiment. ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 261.26 points, or 0.93%, at 28,496.86, its highest close since Jan. 20, 2020.

Hong Kong shares ended at a nearly one-year high on Thursday, after the Trump administration decided to scrap a planned investment ban involving Alibaba and Tencent, while reports of a possible big U.S. stimulus package also boosted sentiment.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 261.26 points, or 0.93%, at 28,496.86, its highest close since Jan. 20, 2020. ** The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 1.02% to 11,299.17. ** Hong Kong shares of Alibaba and Tencent soared 5% and 5.62%, respectively, after the Trump administration shelved plans to blacklist the Chinese tech giants, together with Baidu. This pushed the IT sector sub-index 4.46% higher. ** Oil giant CNOOC Ltd shares soared 6.23%, making it the top gainer on the Hang Seng, after S&P Dow Jones Indices said it would remove the company's securities from some indexes due to U.S. sanctions. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 2.1%. ** Shares of Chinese companies blacklisted by outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump have been snapped up by bargain hunters in recent weeks. ** Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, also blacklisted by the U.S., rose 7.44%, making it the top gainer among H-shares. ** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.91% at 3,565.90 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index slumped 1.93%, amid concerns over rising COVID-19 cases. ** Regional shares firmed and U.S. Treasuries slipped following a CNN report that President-elect Joe Biden will announce a stimulus package as big as $2 trillion, much more than market expectations. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.15%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.85%. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.4688 per U.S. dollar at 08:26 GMT, 0.01% weaker than the previous close of 6.4681.

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