The Hang Seng Index rose 0.6 per cent to 23,679.99 at the noon break. The benchmark has risen 1.4 per cent this week, the longest such streak in three months. The Hang Seng Tech Index also gained 0.6 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index climbed 0.3 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 per cent.
“Recent economic data showed that external demand remains strong and domestic demand is recovering but mildly,” said Wang Jun, an analyst at BOC International. “The risk of downside to economic growth is low, as China has plenty of room for policy measures. But a further breakout of the market depends on the strength of the economic recovery.”
Investors brushed aside Moody’s downgrade of the US government’s credit rating this week to focus on the implications of the 90-day tariff truce between the US and China, and the first set of post-tariff data from the Asian nation. The mixed data showed that industrial production and exports remained resilient despite the US levies of as much as 145 per cent, while retail sales and fixed-asset investments lagged.
