Jubilant fans cheer their favorite teams on the first day of the Hong Kong Sevens 2022 at the Hong Kong Stadium, Nov 4, 2022. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong stocks rebounded significantly on Friday, at the end of a week which saw the return of the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, the second mega-event the city is hosting this week to signal its return to the world stage after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier in the week, the Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit attracted many of the world’s top business leaders to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose by 5.36 percent to close at 16,161 points. The HSI was up nearly 930 points to a high of 16,267 in intraday trading, the highest in two weeks.

READ MORE: Hong Kong Sevens makes comeback after 3-year absence

With tech and consumer cyclical stocks driving the surge, the HSIrose 821 points to close at 16,161, with turnover of the main board reaching about HK$181.27 billion ($23.09 billion).

Hong Kong has returned to the center of the global stage as an international financial hub, with high-profile events coming one after another, said Chief Executive John Lee

Technology stocks led gains in the wider HSI, with Alibaba soaring about 12 percent, while Tencent saw an increase of more than 9 percent, and internet-based service provider Meituan was up more than 8 percent.

The Hang Seng Technology Index, which represents the 30 largest technology companies listed in Hong Kong, surged 228 points or 7.54 percent to close at 3,264. Electric vehicle stocks gained altitude, with shares in BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, up 5.12 percent.

New energy vehicle sales reached 217,800 units in October, up more than 8 percent month-onmonth, a new record high. Meanwhile XPeng rose more than 24 percent.

Airline stocks also performed well with China Southern rising 7.3 percent to HK$4.57, Air China up 7.45 percent to HK$6.35, and Cathay Pacific rising 4.03 percent to HK$7.75.

Further relaxations foreseen

Also on Friday, the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, spanning three days, kicked off at Hong Kong Stadium in Happy Valley. It is among a series of mega-events the city is hosting to signal its comeback.

There is room for Hong Kong to further lift social distancing restrictions if there’s no drastic uptick in confirmed cases after the Sevens, said Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convenor of the Executive Council, the SAR government’s organ for assisting the chief executive in policy-making

Ip described the Sevens as a “test” for the city. Up to 30,000 spectators are expected inside the stadium. They are permitted to drink and eat during the tournament, which was last held in Hong Kong in 2019.

It’s a big week for Hong Kong, and the city is already in recovery mode despite the current anti-pandemic rules, and is gaining in vitality, Ip said.

ALSO READ: Further lifting of virus rules possible if no uptick after Sevens, says Ip

The observations were made on Friday at a policy opinion forum organized by Master Insight.

Addressing the same event, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said Hong Kong has returned to the center of the global stage as an international financial hub, with high-profile events coming one after another.

Alongside an orderly relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, Hong Kong will continue to be lively and dynamic, he said.

He also noted that Hong Kong boasts enormous opportunities in embracing the post-pandemic period given the city’s various advantages. Buttressed by the country’s strong support and the “one country, two systems” practice, Hong Kong has bright prospects for achieving long-term stability and prosperity, notwithstanding the current headwinds, said Lee.

Contact the writers at suzihan@chinadailyhk.com