China shares track US stock futures higher as Fed acts to stabilise banks

China and Hong Kong stocks rose on Monday, tracking gains in global peers after U.S. authorities stepped in to limit the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

The blue-chip CSI 300 Index climbed roughly 0.5%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark surged more than 1.5% in early morning trade. "The move cut off the spread of pessimism among depositors in the short term, gave the market confidence, and prevented bank runs," said Pang Xichun, research director at Nanjing RiskHunt Investment Management Co.

"Uncertain fundamentals put pressure on the U.S. dollar and led to passive appreciation in the yuan, which will benefit China assets in the near term." Due to concerns over financial stability, some investors speculated the U.S. Federal Reserve would now be reluctant hike interest rates by a super-sized 50 basis points this month.

In a joint statement, the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve announced a range of measures to stabilise the banking system and said depositors at SVB would have access to their deposits on Monday, sending U.S. stock futures up in early Asian trade. Tech giants listed in Hong Kong jumped more than 3%, and China's computer shares advanced more than 2%.

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, which has a joint venture with SVB, slipped 1.5% even after the venture said it has a sound corporate structure and an independently operated balance sheet. Chinese-based firms which say they have minimal exposure to SVB mostly traded sideways, with drug developer Beigene Ltd down roughly 1% and Broncus Holding Corporation up 1%.