Mainland and Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Tuesday, both rebounding from multi-month lows, as investors grew optimistic after US President Donald Trump signalled the ⁠Middle East conflict could "end soon".

The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up 551 points, or 2.17 percent, at 25,959.

The China enterprises index was 128 points, or 1.5 percent, up at 8,710 while the tech index was up 118 points, or 2.4 percent, at 5,060, with Tencent up 7.3 percent.

Onshore artificial intelligence stocks rose 2.1 percent.

On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended up 26 points, or 0.65 percent, at 4,123.

The Shenzhen Component Index was 286 points, or 2.04 percent, up at 14,354 while the ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was 97 points, or 3.04 percent, up at 3,306.

China's blue-chip CSI300 Index rose 1.3 percent.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 1,519 points, or 2.88 percent, to close at 54,248, recouping some losses after a 5.2 percent plunge on Monday. The broader Topix climbed 88 points, or 2.47 percent, to 3,664.

In Seoul, the benchmark Kospi closed up 280 points, or 5.35 percent, at 5,532, after falling 6 percent on Monday.

China's export growth quickened in the January-February period, customs data showed, keeping the world's second-largest economy on track to top its record US$1.2 trillion ⁠trade surplus over the course of 2026.

Risk ⁠sentiment rebounded across ⁠Asia after Trump predicted a quick end to the Middle East war, knocking off oil prices ⁠from recent highs.

Energy ‌shares lagged: onshore energy fell 4.3 percent, Hong Kong energy slipped 1.8 percent and the ‌CSI Coal Index dropped 3.3 percent.

China on Monday raised regulated retail ⁠gasoline and diesel ceiling prices by the most since March 2022, tracking a surge in global oil after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran had effectively ‌shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint.

Analysts ⁠at Shenzhen ‌Oriental Harbor Investment Management said they did ‌not expect the Iran conflict to hit the global economy as hard as ‌in 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine and pandemic-era supply strains drove broad surges in commodities and traded goods, fuelling global inflation, ⁠Federal Reserve rate hikes and steep US equity losses. (Reuters & Xinhua)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden