Hong Kong stocks continued to strengthen in the afternoon session. As of the time of publication, the Hang Seng Index was up by 1.42%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index had gained 0.66%.

Bitcoin surged back above the $66,000 level, with HGI BTC ( $HGI BTC 03439.HK$ ), $FA SAMSUNG BTC 03135.HK$ , BOS HSK BTC ( $BOS HSK BTC 03008.HK$ ), $FA CSOP BTC 03066.HK$ all jumping over 6%, CAM BTC ( $CAM BTC 03042.HK$ ) climbing more than 5%, OSL Group ( $OSL GROUP 00863.HK$ ) advancing over 4%, while HGI ETH ( $HGI ETH 03179.HK$ ), CAM ETH ( $CAM ETH 03046.HK$ ), and BOS HSK ETH ( $BOS HSK ETH 03009.HK$ ) were all up more than 3%.

On the news front, April CPI and core CPI year-over-year growth rates in the US slowed, reigniting expectations for a rate cut. Following the release of the data, the US dollar fell, propelling assets such as Bitcoin further upward. Bitcoin prices soared above $66,000 on Wednesday, marking its best performance since March 2023.

The financial sector saw continual gains in the afternoon, with Ping An ( $PING AN 02318.HK$ ), China Pacific Insurance ( $CPIC 02601.HK$ ), China Construction Bank ( $CCB 00939.HK$ ), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ( $ICBC 01398.HK$ ), and China Merchants Bank ( $CM BANK 03968.HK$ ) climbing over 5%. Bank of China ( $BANK OF CHINA 03988.HK$ ) and New China Life Insurance ( $NCI 01336.HK$ ) also posted gains.

ZTO Express ( $ZTO EXPRESS-W 02057.HK$ ) rallied in the afternoon, surging over 8% after the company reported a 15.8% year-over-year increase in adjusted net profit to 2.224 billion yuan for Q1.

Tencent ( $TENCENT 00700.HK$ ) at one point soared 5% to breach the 400 Hong Kong dollar mark, hitting a new high since the end of January 2023; Tencent has accumulated a 36% increase year to date. The gain later narrowed to 3.88%. The company reported first-quarter revenue of 159.501 billion yuan, up 6% year-over-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders rising 62% to 41.889 billion yuan, and adjusted net profit growing 54% to 50.27 billion yuan.