Global stock markets got a lift from the easing of the pandemic shutdown in many countries and regions, including the United States, and positive vaccine news that several pharmaceutical companies are beginning clinical trials of new drugs against the coronavirus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 530 points, or 2.2 percent, on Tuesday which the Nasdaq Composite gained 16 points, or 0.2 percent, to finish at 9,340

But the Hong Kong market retreated 141 points, or 0.6 percent, on Wednesday morning against the backdrop of heightening social tension arising from the resumption of the second reading of the National Anthem law in the Legislature later in the day. Radical groups have been calling in various online social media for mass demonstrations while riot police are deployed in force at likely flash points around the city.

Hong Kong investors have other things to worry about. And that’s the heightening tension between the United States and China that could further curtail trade and investment between Hong Kong’s two largest and most important markets. More worrisome is that Washington has been using the National Security Law for Hong Kong as an excuse to escalade its attacks on Beijing.

US House national security adviser Robert O’Brien has threatened to sanction Beijing if it carries through plans for the new national security law in Hong Kong. On Tuesday, the White House said that a move by Beijing to tighten its grip could threaten Hong Kong’s status as a financial center.

In Hong Kong, the threat by radicals to mount an assault on the legislative council premises to block the proceeding on the national anthem law has not materialized and the scattered disturbances in various districts have not caused serious disruptions to traffic. The relative calm has given analysts confidence that the Hong Kong market will catch up with the rally in other major markets in coming days.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong people are feeling safe enough to leave their homes to go to shop or dine in larger groups while the government is progressively relaxing its social distancing rules. The optimism about the economy reopening is seen as a driving force behind investors’ confidence in the stock and property markets.