Hong Kong stocks rise as investors fall back in love with Chinese EV makers and tech firms

Investors take a cue from a Wall Street tech rally overnight and hunt for bargains following a recent correction, brokers say

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People look at a Nio ET7 at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on May 3, 2024. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:26am, 26 Mar 2025Updated: 4:45pm, 26 Mar 2025

Hong Kong shares rose on Wednesday, buoyed by a rally in Chinese electric-car makers while technology stocks also rebounded.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 0.6 per cent at 23,483.32, bouncing back from the lowest close since March 4 on Tuesday. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index slid 0.3 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite Index stayed nearly unchanged from a day earlier.

The market rise came after Morgan Stanley upgraded its forecast on Chinese stocks for a second time since February and Goldman Sachs said feedback from clients signalled that global interest was at the highest since the market’s previous peak four years ago.

“China is back on the radar, at least in terms of investor interest,” Goldman said in a research note on Wednesday.

Mainland Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) maker Nio rose 1.5 per cent to HK$34.30 after its CEO William Li said in a media briefing that the Shanghai-based carmaker expected to break even in the fourth quarter of this year. Its domestic rival Xpeng climbed 1.9 per cent to HK$81.35 after slumping 7.5 per cent on Tuesday. Beijing-based Li Auto, Tesla’s nearest rival on the mainland, rose 2.7 per cent to to HK$102.70.

BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, jumped 2.4 per cent to HK$398.40, after reporting on Monday that its full-year revenue beat Tesla for the first time in 2024.

The US S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent on Tuesday driven by tech stocks as Tesla extended a five-day gain to 28 per cent.