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(Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Asia moved higher after a morning briefing by Chinese officials showed the government remains determined to boost share prices.
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Benchmarks in Hong Kong and mainland China started the day up, boosting sentiment in the market after a tepid open elsewhere. The CSI 300 Index was 1.6% higher, while the Hang Seng Index gained almost 1%. The MSCI Asia Pacific index was up 0.2%.
The gains came after a briefing by China’s securities regulator, which largely reiterated previous efforts to boost stock prices but added further details. That included requirements on how much Chinese insurers should invest in the stock market, a move that will increase demand for stocks.
“This is like stacking the firewood to build a campire: We are setting up for a more constructive environment, but you need a spark,” said Tai Hui, JPMorgan Asset Management’s APAC chief market strategist. “A lot of investors internationally are concerned that further deterioration in the US-China relationship could impact investment.”
The briefing was held by China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Qing, Deputy Finance Minister Liao Min and central bank official Zou Lan, a sign that boosting China’s stock market is seen by Beijing as a government-wide effort rather than simply a problem for the securities regulator.
SoftBank Rallies
Investors in Asia are still digesting the impact of US President Donald Trump’s first few days in office, which have sent mixed signals to investors. Trump has reiterated a tariff threat against China but has largely spared the world’s second-largest economy from a feared escalation of the trade war.
The S&P 500 came close to an all-time high on Wednesday, after a three-day rally that has been fueled in part by Trump’s moves to boost spending on artificial intelligence. Earlier this week, the president unveiled a joint venture with SoftBank Group Corp., OpenAI, and Oracle Corp. that could spend billions of AI infrastructure.
SoftBank’s shares rallied in the wake of the news, and continued to move higher on Thursday. They are now up around 17% since the start of the year.
But other Asian tech stocks didn’t fare as well. Shares of Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. fell as much as 4.7%, despite the company reporting a record quarterly profit. The numbers came largely in line with expectations.