Hong Kong stocks sustain 3-year-high level as headway on trade talks spurs optimism

A US deal with Japan and scheduled talks with China reduce concerns about damage to the global economy from trade conflicts

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A crane lifts cargo from a container ship at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, California on July 14, 2025. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:24am, 23 Jul 2025Updated: 4:37pm, 23 Jul 2025

The run-up that drove Hong Kong stocks to the highest level in more than three and a half years continued on Wednesday after the US pencilled in a fresh round of trade talks with China for next week and clinched a deal with Japan, reducing concerns about damage to the global economy and corporate earnings.

The Hang Seng Index rose for a fourth day, gaining 1.6 per cent to 25,538.07 for the highest close since November 17, 2021. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 2.5 per cent.

On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both added less than 0.1 per cent.

Biotech firm Wuxi Biologics jumped after it received approval for five manufacturing facilities in the US. Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings also advanced.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox Business that he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week for a third round of trade talks. China’s commerce ministry confirmed that the negotiation would take place from July 27 to 30. A 90-day tariff pause between China and the US expires on August 12, after two rounds of negotiations in Geneva and London brought down levies on imports from each nation.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US and Japan had struck a trade deal that would impose a 15 per cent tariff on imports from the Asian country and include US$550 billion of Japanese investments in America. The market had expected a 25 per cent rate. That marked a breakthrough in the US’ tariff negotiations with its key trading partners since the April “Liberation Day.”

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