HSI Surges 562 pts; HKEX Jumps 7%

Hong Kong equities shot up sharply this morning as the Financial Secretary is set to establish a task force this week to study a potential adjustment on the stamp duty for stock trading. At open, $Hang Seng Index (800000.HK)$ surged 562 pts or 3.1% to 18,519; $Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (800100.HK)$ gained 232 pts or 3.8% to 6,407; $Hang Seng TECH Index (800700.HK)$ rallied 198 pts or 4.9% to 4,257.

In the financial sector, $HKEX (00388.HK)$ elevated 7% to $308.2, while $CM BANK (03968.HK)$ , which reported a 9% increase in 1H23 net profit, ticked up by 5.2%. $HSBC HOLDINGS (00005.HK)$ and $AIA (01299.HK)$ opened 0.9% and 1.8% higher, respectively. On the other hand, mainland China announced that the stamp duty on stock trading will be reduced starting from today, driving the share prices of $CITIC SEC (06030.HK)$ and $CICC (03908.HK)$ up by 8.7% and 9%, respectively.