CK Hutchison leads Hong Kong stock surge as China’s NPC opens amid trade-war jitters

CK jumped after agreeing to sell assets worth US$23 billion including ports near the Panama Canal

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Flags of CK Hutchinson Holdings fly outside the company’s headquarters in Hong Kong on March 21, 2019. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:27am, 5 Mar 2025Updated: 4:28pm, 5 Mar 2025

Hong Kong stocks rose on Wednesday, led by a record surge in one of the city’s largest companies after CK Hutchison Holdings disposed of assets near the Panama Canal amid US-China tensions and an unfolding trade war and as China commenced its annual parliamentary meeting.

The Hang Seng Index jumped 2.8 per cent to 23,594.21 at the close, recovering most of the loss incurred since Friday when the US levied additional tariffs. The Hang Seng Tech Index surged 4 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both added 0.5 per cent.

CK Hutchison soared 22 per cent to HK$47.10 after agreeing to sell assets worth US$23 billion including ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium. Affiliate CK Asset Holdings advanced 4.9 per cent to HK$35.25. Alibaba Group Holding rose 1.6 per cent to HK$129.90, and Tencent Holdings gained 3 per cent to HK$505.50. Meituan added 6.4 per cent to HK$171.50.

In the government work report delivered by Premier Li Qiang to the opening session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China set its growth target at around 5 per cent for the year and boosted the fiscal deficit to 4 per cent from its long-standing 3 per cent level. While these targets are in line with consensus expectations, the growth target still looks ambitious to achieve for some investors, given the headwinds from the depressed property market and tariff threats from the US.

“There is room to revise up the fiscal deficit later this year if the trade war leads to significant downside risk to economic growth,” said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management in Hong Kong. “The report mentioned that the government will cut the reserve requirement ratio and policy interest rate when the timing is right. This confirms the [central bank] will continue to loosen the monetary policy stance.”

Sentiment got a fillip after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the country might offer a pathway for tariff relief on some imports from Mexico and Canada. Morgan Stanley and Nomura Holdings also said that China’s retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural products were less severe than expected, leaving the door open for negotiations.