Hong Kong stocks opened mixed on Thursday morning, with the benchmark Hang Seng gaining 0.38%, while EV stocks declined. Shares of $XPENG-W (09868.HK)$, $Li Auto-W (02015.HK)$ and $NIO-SW (09866.HK)$ fell over 1%.

The PBOC kept the rate on 400 billion yuan ($57.46 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions unchanged at 2.75%, according to Channel News Asia.

Company News: Alibaba launched its second annual small business grants program, known as the "Manifest" Grants Program, to enhance the competitive edge of products by US small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

$Tesla (TSLA.US)$ Chair Robyn Denholm has defended the carmaker's focus on China and plans to grow further in the country, saying hitting a goal of making 20 million vehicles a year by 2030 will require manufacturing capabilities on every continent, reported Bloomberg.

Top Gainers and Losers: $Country Garden Services Holdings (06098.HK)$ and $WUXI BIO (02269.HK)$ gained over 7% each, while $ENN ENERGY (02688.HK)$ and $HENGAN INT'L (01044.HK)$ lost over 0.6% each.

Global News: U.S. futures traded in the green on Thursday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures were up 0.06% while the Nasdaq futures gained 0.09%. The S&P 500 futures rose 0.09%.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's ASX 200 gained 0.36%. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.12% while China's Shanghai Composite index gained 0.5%. South Korea's Kospi was up 0.1%.