Hong Kong stocks advanced, overcoming a jittery start to trading as investors bought back Chinese tech leaders including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings. The market was headed for a third week of rally, driven by bets on further stimulus injection. Oil producers also gained amid concerns about supply.

The Hang Seng Index jumped 2.4 per cent to 22,647.01 at 11.10am local time, after losing as much as 1.3 per cent in opening trades. The Tech Index surged 4.5 per cent. Markets in mainland China are closed through October 7 for a holiday.

Alibaba gained 1.9 per cent to HK$112.10 while e-commerce peer JD.com appreciated 5.9 per cent to HK$180.50. WeChat owner Tencent gained 1.6 per cent to HK$473.80. Property developer Longfor Group added 2.4 per cent to HK$17.38 while China Resources Land rose 1.7 per cent to HK$30.25.

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"Many investors wanted to see the effects of the policies to justify a long-term market turnaround," John Choi, analyst at Daiwa Securities, wrote in a note to clients. This round of rally has more legs as many stocks are still trading below their three- and five-year averages, he said, adding that e-commerce verticals will be among the key beneficiaries of further fiscal stimulus measures.

The Hang Seng Index has risen 9.6 per cent this week, on top of a 13 per cent surge last week that marked the biggest weekly rally in 26 years. The 23 per cent cumulative gain since China unleashed its policy bazooka on September 24 has restored US$3 trillion of capitalisation to Chinese stocks in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and New York.

Elsewhere, CNOOC rallied 2.6 percent to HK$21.45, and PetroChina jumped 3.4 percent to HK$6.77. Oil producers advanced after crude prices surged to a five-week high of US$73.75 a barrel amid concerns supply will be disrupted as the Middle East tensions escalated.

Most Asian markets were mixed on Friday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.9 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi jumped 0.4 per cent and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index added 0.5 per cent.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright ? 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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