Asian stock market today: Markets kick off new year on a positive note; Hang Seng jumps over 2%

(Representative AI image)Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 2.2% to 26,189.79. Markets in Tokyo, Shanghai, Thailand and New Zealand remained closed for holidays.South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.5% to 4,277.94, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,727.30. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.1%, and India’s Sensex added 0.1%.Chinese tech majors were among the top gainers.Alibaba jumped 3.2%, while Baidu rallied 7.5% after announcing plans to spin off its artificial intelligence chip unit, Kunlunxin. The unit is ex ...