Hang Seng Index climbs 1% for second straight day on tech strength

The rally in Hong Kong mirrored a broader tech-driven rebound in global markets, supported by strong earnings, resilient consumer spending and heightened investment in artificial intelligence. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1% to a record closing high.

AI-related investment activity remained robust, with reports indicating OpenAI was in talks with UAE-based funds to anchor a $30 billion financing round, while Chinese AI firms DeepSeek and Moonshot AI were also raising significant capital.

Despite tech strength, longer-dated US Treasury yields remained near multi-decade peaks, weighing on interest-rate-sensitive stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 5.281%, down 3 basis points after hitting its highest level since April 2002, while the 30-year yield was at 5.637%, also down slightly after reaching levels not seen since May 2002.

In other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1.1% to 70,683.98, returning above the 70,000 threshold for the first time since early July. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.9% to 6,941.39, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 8,735.70 and Taiwan’s Taiex edged up 0.2%. India’s Sensex added 1%, while mainland China markets were closed for a holiday.

Oil prices eased early Tuesday, with Brent crude falling 0.8% to $99.48 per barrel, slipping below the $100 mark amid rising Gulf exports and a Saudi price cut. US crude dropped below $90 as reports surfaced of former President Donald Trump planning to ease restrictions on tax-exempt diesel use to lower fuel costs.