China, Hong Kong stocks rise on healthcare, tech advance

According to Business Recorder, mainland China and Hong Kong equities moved higher on Thursday as drugmakers led the gains and technology names recovered part of the previous day's losses. The rise came as the wider Asian region bounced back. Investors took heart from the regional rebound following Wednesday's worldwide technology sell-off.

The CSI300 index, which tracks large Chinese companies, was up 0.2 per cent by the lunch break after a 3 per cent fall on Wednesday, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.3 per cent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 1.5 per cent after an almost unchanged session the previous day. South Korea's Kospi jumped 7 per cent and Japan's market rose 1 per cent.

Healthcare shares led the advance after Moderna and Merck reported a notable breakthrough in cancer treatment on Wednesday, lifting Moderna by as much as 160 per cent and Merck by 12 per cent. China's CSI Vaccine and Biotech Index climbed 10 per cent. Unitree, a Chinese humanoid robot maker, fell 16 per cent after soaring more than fivefold in its Shanghai trading debut.