Hong Kong’s stock market rallied sharply on Wednesday, jumping more than 600 points to top the 25,600 mark, fueled by an optimistic market outlook for the profits of technology enterprises.

The equity market benchmark, the Hang Seng Index, surged 643.99 points to close 2.58 percent higher at 25,613 on a turnover of more than HK$284 billion ($36.18 billion).

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index — a barometer of Chinese mainland companies — edged up 2.62 percent to finish at 9,150 points, while the city’s technology stock gauge, the Hang Seng TECH Index, picked up 3.52 percent to close at 5,630 points.

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China Literature Group skyrocketed 19.6 percent, with its share price hitting a new high since July 2023, as the company said its interim profit attributable to shareholders has skyrocketed 68.5 percent annually.

Tencent Music Entertainment Group surged 15.6 percent after the company posted a more than 37-percent hike in adjusted net profit for the second quarter.  

Tencent Holdings rose 4.7 percent, reaching HK$586 per share, its highest level since the first half of 2021, as the tech giant reported 15.6 percent revenue growth in the second quarter, boosted by strong gaming performance and its deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) services.

Alibaba Group Holding soared 6.09 percent, while JD.com hiked more than 3.8 percent after the e-commerce player said it would not be involved in cut-throat price competition.

Mobile device stocks and pharmaceutical-related stocks also rose while Macao gaming, Chinese financial and some car manufacturer stocks saw laggard performance.

“Global tariff negotiations have made multiple key breakthroughs, sustaining an optimistic tone in world stock markets,” said Michael Chan, managing director at Hong Kong-based mandatory provident fund (MPF) advisory firm GUM.

China and the United States (US) on Tuesday agreed to extend the pause on tariff hikes on each other's goods for another 90 days, injecting more certainty into markets and reassuring many investors.

“As tariff uncertainties fade, markets are expected to refocus on fundamentals, and members should monitor long-term economic indicators,” Chan added.

James Wang, UBS head of China equity strategy research, said the asset manager prefers internet and technology stocks coupled with high dividend companies.

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“We also see value in Hong Kong-listed small cap stocks as a potential convergence play with some pickup in interest from southbound investors in recent months, and the significant outperformance of A-share small caps versus their Hong Kong peers in the last five years,” he said.

All three major indices of the Chinese mainland market posted strong gains on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.48 percent to 3,683.46 points, its highest level in more than three years since December 2021.

The Shenzhen Component Index advanced 1.76 percent to close at 11,551.36 points, while the ChiNext Index, which tracks China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 3.62 percent to close at 2,496.5 points.

Contact the writer at gabylin@chinadailyhk.com