Hong Kong stocks rose 341 points, or 1.4%, to 23,824 in early trading on Thursday (3/27), extending gains for a second session amid broad gains. Sentiment was boosted after Wall Street banks turned bullish on Chinese stocks. Morgan Stanley raised its 2025 year-end target for mainland stocks for the second time this year, while Goldman Sachs projected further gains driven by positive earnings revisions. A slight 0.3% year-on-year decline in China's industrial profits for the first two months of 2025 also lent support, following a 3.3% decline in 2024 and reinforcing signs that Beijing's stimulus measures are taking effect. However, gains were tempered by a soft outlook from Wall Street overnight, as investors weighed U.S. President Trump's 25% tariffs on auto imports. Caution also prevailed ahead of China's March PMI data next week. Among the early gainers were Laopu Old (8.3%), BOC Hong Kong (7.0%), Semiconductor Manufacturing (5.0%), China Mengniu Dairy (3.9%), and Hansoh Pharmaceutical (3.6%).(Newsmaker23)

Source: Trading Economics