Tech shares rose across Hong Kong and mainland markets on Tuesday, led by gains in Tencent and Meituan while investors cautiously evaluated Middle East peace talks.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 640 points, or 2.5 percent, to 26,038 on turnover of HK$373.78 billion for its biggest daily rise in nearly two months.

The China enterprises index gained 255 points, or 3 percent, to 8,762 while the tech index rose 234 points, or 4.7 percent, to 5,199.

Shares of Tencent Holdings leapt 10.5 percent after the Financial Times reported the company moved closer to launching an AI agent for WeChat's 1.4 billion Chinese users.

Chinese food delivery leader Meituan jumped 9.3 percent. It posted a third consecutive quarterly loss on Monday and met revenue growth estimates, but a year of subsidy-fuelled competition in China's one-hour delivery space showed signs of easing.

For markets up north, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 17 points, or 0.43 percent, to close at 4,075 on turnover of 1.28 trillion yuan.

The Shenzhen Component Index gained 250 points, or 1.63 percent, to 15,591, on turnover of 1.51 trillion yuan while the ChiNext Index surged 104 points, or 2.66 percent, to 4,055 on turnover of 714 billion yuan.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended the day 200 points, or 0.3 percent, down at 66,734. The broader Topix edged down 16 points, or 0.42 percent, to 3,924.24.

In Seoul, the Kospi South Korean shares notched a record closing high in rising 13 points, or 0.15 percent, to 8,801 after a volatile session of trading that saw technology firms leading gains on hopes of AI cooperation with Nvidia ahead of the arrival of its boss Jensen Huang.

"Markets are entering June balancing renewed geopolitical risks from US-Iranian military exchanges against continued enthusiasm for AI-driven growth and technology investment," said Bob Savage, head of markets macro strategy at BNY.

"Meanwhile, China stands out as the only major emerging market attracting inflows across the equity, fixed income and currency markets."

Lebanon announced on Monday a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.

Earlier, Iranian state media said Tehran was halting indirect negotiations with the United States and might end the ceasefire, citing the war in Lebanon. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said talks with Iran were ongoing "at a rapid pace". (Reuters & Xinhua)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden