Hong Kong stocks rose, with the city’s benchmark heading for its biggest weekly gain in nearly five months, taking cues from a global rally amid optimism that the US economy will achieve a soft landing.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 1.52% as of 10:40am local time. It has advanced 4.9% this week, on course for the best performance for a five-day period since April 26. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 2.07% and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.13%.

Among gainers, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group rallied 9% after saying that it would spend no more than HK$5 billion (US$641.7 million) on repurchasing its shares over the next two years. Alibaba Group Holding added 2.92% and Meituan climbed 1.35%.

Other major Asia-Pacific markets edged higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.9%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.9% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5%.

The S&P 500 closed 1.7% higher overnight, achieving its 39th record close this year. A drop in US jobless claims to the lowest point since May revealed resilience in the labour market despite a slowdown in hiring. That alleviated concerns that the Federal Reserve might have been behind the curve in cutting rates Wednesday.