Rally for the Hong Kong stock exchange, with the Hang Seng index soaring by more than 4% in anticipation of the press conference on anti-Covid measures called by the Chinese State Council.
The hope is that, following the protests that have spread throughout China, the Beijing government will be able to ease some restrictions and lockdown measures that it continues to pursue as part of its Zero Covid policy.
Also supporting market sentiment is the fact that, for the first time in more than a week, new cases of Covid in China have dropped.
Buying boom on hi-tech stocks on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with the reference sub-index ralliing above +6%. The Hang Seng Index is now up 3.5%, trimming gains.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange rises by more than 2%, Seoul +0.94%, Sydney +0.33%. The Nikkei 225 index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed down by 0.42%.