Asia-pacific Market Positivity

Stocks in Asia-Pacific rose Monday as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index bounced back from last week. The Hang Seng index rose 1.05% to close at 25,109.59, as shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent ($TCEHY@China) rose nearly 2% while Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing surged 5.66%. Monday’s gains for the Hang Seng came after heavy losses last week, with the index falling more than 20% below its mid-February high. Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 3.1% to $67.2 per barrel. Regulatory uncertainty in China has clouded the outlook for Chinese technology companies. Investors have been concerned about the potential tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve as well as the spread of the delta Covid-19 variant.