Hong Kong stock market rises sharply in face of tumultuous events on both sides of Pacific Ocean

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      At times, it feels like this is the worst year since the end of the Second World War.

      There's sky-high unemployment, a pandemic, and a civil-rights uprising after another African-American man, George Lloyd, was killed at the hands of police.

      As many protest peacefully in the day, violence is breaking out in U.S. cities on a nightly basis. And police use heavy-handed means to restore order, even arresting reporters.

      Tensions are also high between the U.S. and China. In Beijing, the National People's Congress recently passed a security law that elevates the risk of Hong Kong democracy activists being thrown in prison for "advocating treason". 

      That led the U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to declare that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China.

      Pompeo's comments led many to believe last week that the former British colony would face the same tariffs that the U.S. imposes on China. 

      Yet in the face of all of this, Hong Kong's stock market has just experienced its sharpest one-day rise since March 25.

      The Hang Seng Index jumped by 3.36 percent to reach 23,732.52. This came after a 6.8 percent drop in May.

      The Shanghai Composite Index also had a good June 1, increasing by 2.2 percent.

      Analysts quoted in the South China Morning Post attributed today's rising markets to Donald Trump's decision not to impose new sanctions against China on Friday (May 29).

      Another piece of good news for Hong Kong residents has been the sharp drop in positive test results for COVID-19 in China.

      On May 31, there there just 76 new cases, accounting for just 0.09 percent of all confirmed cases.

      North American stock markets open at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time.

      Update

      By 9:50 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 71 points, or 0.28 percent. The S&P/TSX Composite Average was up 50 points, or 0.33 percent.

      This suggests that a weekend of protests an some looting has not discouraged the investment community—at least not yet.

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