The Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Tuesday, as traders kept an eye on the latest developments in the US-China tariff talks and corporate results to assess the impact of the ongoing trade war.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.2%, the Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 0.6%.

Retail broker BRIGHT SMART rose 32% in Hong Kong on Tuesday after surging 82% on Monday following an announcement that mainland China’s online payment giant Ant Group agreed to buy a controlling stake.

Laopu Gold rose 7%; NIO rose 5%; Meituan rose 3%; Li Auto, JD.com up 2%; Alibaba fell 0.2%; Tencent fell 1%.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that it was up to China to take the first step in de-escalating the tariff fight with the US. The comment came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Brics nations not to yield to the US tariff threats at a meeting in Brazil on Monday. Earlier, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman denied any recent consultations or negotiations on tariffs between Beijing and Washington.

“We believe talks will begin that will move tariff rates down,” Morgan Stanley economists led by chief Asia economist Chetan Ahya said in a note late on Monday. “But a comprehensive deal takes time, so tariffs are likely to remain somewhat high.”

They added that some damage had been done by the tariffs, and the path ahead could lead to a “sharp, synchronous slowdown” unless tariff-related uncertainty was resolved quickly.

“[China] is where some companies will obviously face difficulties because of the tariffs, but we believe some areas of the market will be supported by domestic innovation and government support to boost consumption,” Fabiana Fedeli, a chief investment officer at British asset manager M&G Investments, said on Monday.