Sawt Falasteen - Hong Kong, Shanghai stocks surge on China help

Hong Kong and Shanghai had been among the world's worst-performing markets in 2024 as traders fret over ongoing weakness in the Chinese economy, the world's second largest.

China's leadership has become increasingly worried about the sell-off, which has wiped trillions off valuations, and has unveiled a string of measures to try to staunch the rout.

Hong Kong closed up 4.0 percent, helped by a surge in heavyweight tech firms including Alibaba, JD.com and XD Inc.

On Tuesday, Central Huijin Investment, the unit that holds Chinese government stakes in big financial institutions, said it would increase investments in funds.

"A huge rebound in China seems to be giving risk some lustre... as Beijing upped the ante on its efforts to stabilise the market ahead of the lunar new year holiday," noted Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Finalto trading group.

"Authorities are stepping in after a wave of selling sent shares in mainland China to multi-year lows."

Analysts have warned that while such moves could provide some short-term relief, the government needed to address long-standing problems within the economy -- particularly the property sector -- to restore confidence.

In Europe, BP shot to the top of London's benchmark FTSE 100 index after the British energy group ramped up its dividend and said it would repurchase a large amount of shares in the wake of bumper annual profits.

BP shares rallied nearly six percent in late morning trade.

Swiss banking giant UBS meanwhile said it would hand shareholders up to $1 billion in share buybacks as it posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss stemming from the costs of absorbing fallen rival Credit Suisse.

Elsewhere, investors were also still coming to terms with the prospect of US interest rates being kept at two-decade highs following a forecast-busting jobs report last week and a warning from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell that an imminent cut was unlikely.

While inflation continues to come down, central bank officials have been reticent about pushing for a reduction in borrowing costs, citing a still-robust jobs market and other indicators showing the economy remains in rude health.

Figures Monday added to that, with a gauge of service-sector activity hitting a four-month high.

All three main indexes on Wall Street finished in the red Monday, with the Dow and S&P 500 having hit record highs on multiple occasions in recent weeks thanks to a rush into tech giants, including Amazon and Meta.

- Key figures around 1130 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,645.83 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,601.02

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 16,881.03

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 4,660.53

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 36,160.66 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 4.0 percent at 16,136.87 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 3.2 percent at 2,789.49 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 38,380.12 (close)

Dollar/yen: UP at 148.70 yen from 148.68 yen on Monday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0735 from $1.0745

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2550 from $1.2536

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.54 pence from 85.68 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $73.09 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $78.47 per barrel

M.Qasim--SF-PST