Hong Kong stocks rallied more than three percent Tuesday afternoon thanks to heavy buying in tech giants, while traders are also awaiting the release of key US inflation data due later in the day.

The Hang Seng Index surged 3.32 percent, or 550.10 points, to 17,137.67. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.41 percent, or 12.52 points, to 3,055.94, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange climbed 0.82 percent, or 14.38 points, to 1,770.57.

The gains extended the market's advance into a third day, with e-commerce giants JD.com and Alibaba among the big winners, while electronics giant Xiaomi surged more than 10 percent after saying it will start deliveries of its first electric vehicle by the end of this month.

Investors are keeping a close watch on the February consumer price index report, which comes after a surprise uptick in January that dented hopes the central bank would begin cutting rates sooner rather than later.

Still, there is hope that the reading will point to a further slowdown in inflation and give the Federal Reserve room to cut interest rates.