Alibaba Rose 3.47%, Nio Rise 1.97%: Hang Seng Rebounds On Easing COVID-19 Curbs In China

KEY POINTS

• Shares of Alibaba rose 3.47% and Nio rose 1.97% while Meituan rose 4.06% and Li Auto stocks rose 3.25% in morning trade.
• China's exports and imports narrowed at their steepest pace in at least 2.5 years in Nov.
• Senior Chinese officials are discussing an economic growth target for 2023 of around 5%.

Hong Kong stocks opened in the green on Thursday morning, with the benchmark Hang Seng gaining 1.96%, as investors and traders cheered the easing COVID-19 restrictions in China, which signaled a reopening of the economy. The government announced that work and local production cannot be stopped unless an area is considered high-risk.Shares of Alibaba rose 3.47% and Nio rose 1.97% while Meituan rose 4.06% and Li Auto stocks rose 3.25% in morning trade.

Macro News: China's exports and imports narrowed at their steepest pace in at least 2.5 years in November, dragged by sluggish demand, COVID-led production disruptions and a property slump, reported Reuters.

China should change its official name for COVID-19 to indicate the virus' mutation, and patients with light symptoms should be permitted to quarantine at home, said a leading authority on traditional Chinese medicine, according to Reuters.

Senior Chinese officials are discussing an economic growth target for 2023 of around 5%, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the discussion.

Company News: Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. is thinking about building a battery plant in the U.S. but doesn’t currently plan on selling its electric cars there,reportedBloomberg citing a top executive.

U.K.-based INEOS and China Petroleum & ChemicalCorporation, known as Sinopec, have announced a new joint venture agreement that will see INEOS acquire a 50% share in the existing Tianjin Nangang Ethylene Project from Sinopec.

Top Gainers and Losers: Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited and Meituan are the top gainers on the Hang Seng index, having risen over 4%. Lenovo Group Limited and CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited are the top losers, having shed 0.5% each.

Global News: U.S. futures traded in the red on Thursday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures lost 0.18% while the Nasdaq futures shed 0.41%. The S&P 500 futures were trading lower by 0.31%.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Australia’s ASX 200 was down 0.7%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.87% lower while China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.08%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.9%.