Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Tuesday as global investors broadened their focus beyond US markets, fuelling gains across Asian equities, while the yuan advanced to its strongest level against the US dollar since May 2023.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.9%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 0.1%.

In terms of star stocks, Zijin Gold Intl up 5%; Alibaba up 4%; Bilibili up 3%; XPeng, BYD up 2%; Tencent up 1%; MiniMax fell 8%; Kuaishou, Baidu fell 2%.

“The Hong Kong market has been largely driven by moves in mainland A shares,” said Kenny Ng Lai-yin, a strategist at Everbright Securities International. “A rebound in some tech names such as Alibaba [Group Holding] has also lifted the index.”

Trading volume on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges hit a record 3.58 trillion yuan on Monday, surpassing the previous high of 3.43 trillion yuan on October 8 last year. Trading volume in the Hong Kong stock exchange on the same day surpassed HK$300 billion, the first time since last November.

Asian shares climbed to a near record on Tuesday morning as tensions between the US and Iran escalated and investors sought to diversify beyond the US markets.

The yuan rose to its highest level in nearly three years as the US dollar weakened after the White House increased its criticism of the Federal Reserve. The yuan’s offshore spot rate reached 6.97 against the US dollar.