Asia-Pacific shares mostly rose as traders look ahead to the U.S. May jobs report, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index trading as high as 4% and leading gains in the wider region.
The consumer and real estate sector steered the index’s advances, with investment holding company Longfor soaring 14.48% and automotive company Zhongsheng Group surging more than 8%. Tech giants like Baidu, JD.com and Alibaba also rallied.
The index closed 4.02% higher at 18,949.94.
“Hong Kong stock market experienced a big rebound today,” said Kenny Ng from Everbright Securities International.
“From a technical perspective, the Hang Seng Index was oversold before the rebound,” he said, adding that it suggests that the rebound seen today may be technically driven.
Elsewhere, the Kospi closed 1.25% higher as South Korea’s consumer inflation for May cooled to a 19-month low, easing for the fourth straight month. The Nikkei 225 traded up 1.21% to 31,524.22.
Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.79% to close at 3,230.07 while the Shenzhen Component climbed 1.497%, ending at 10,998.07.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.48% to close at 7,145.1.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes advanced gains, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing at their highest levels since August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.47%.
The House passed a bill to raise the debt limit and place a cap on government spending by a wide margin late Wednesday, sending the bill to the Senate just days before Monday’s U.S. default deadline. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber would pass the bill Thursday night.
Investors are also looking ahead to Friday’s May jobs report. Recent data point toward a strong labor market despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hiking plan.
