05.01.202602:07:09UTC+00Hong Kong Shares Inch Higher to Begin the Week

Hong Kong's stock market experienced a modest increase on Monday morning, advancing by 54 points, or 0.2%, to settle at 26,393—marking a continuation of the previous session's gains and reaching a peak not seen for seven weeks. Investors appeared unperturbed by the U.S. military's actions in Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro was apprehended, and President Donald Trump declared temporary American administration. The strong performance in mainland stocks buoyed market sentiment, driven by renewed confidence in China's burgeoning domestic artificial intelligence sector. Last week, President Xi Jinping hinted at adopting more proactive macroeconomic policies by 2026 to maintain momentum following an approximately 5% growth rate in 2025. However, data revealed that China's services activity grew at its slowest pace in six months by December 2025, due to declines in employment and fragile external demand. Concurrently, retail sales in Hong Kong declined in November, influenced in part by slower activity in department stores. Despite these challenges, technology stocks spearheaded the market's gains, with Kuaishou Tech rising by 10.3%, followed by Chow Tai Fook at 5.1%, China Hongqiao at 2.4%, SMIC at 2.1%, and CK Infrastructure at 1.8%.