Hong Kong stocks closed (07.17) | Hang Seng Index closed down 1.78%, AI hardware stocks were hit hard, and some power stocks reversed the market
The Zhitong Finance App learned that the Asia-Pacific stock market experienced “Black Friday”. The three major Hong Kong stock indices fluctuated downward throughout the day. The Hang Seng Index once again fell below the 25,000 mark, and the Hengke Index once again fell more than 5% in the afternoon. At the close, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.78% or 446.36 points to 24562.24 points, with a full day turnover of HK$347.325 billion; the Hang Seng State-owned Enterprises Index fell 2.18% to 8136.73 points; and the Hang Seng Technology Index fell 4.37% to 4623.17 points. Looking at the whole week, the Hang Seng Index rose 1.6%, the National Index rose 1.21%, and the Hengke Index fell 2.09%.
Shen Wan Hongyuan pointed out that after experiencing a sharp rise last year, the Hong Kong stock market has not performed well at the index level since this year. Currently, the Hong Kong stock market is already in the “triple bottom” zone. Moreover, in terms of the market transaction structure, a large number of short positions accumulated in the previous period may become a driving force to make up for the upward trend when the market reverses. Looking at potential catalysts, whether it is top-down macroeconomic factors or bottom-up industry narratives that have recently changed, these are all expected to form a driving force for the market to bottom up.
Blue-chip stock performance
The electric energy industry (00006) led the blue chip increase. At the close, it rose 3.01% to HK$59.8, with a turnover of HK$295 million, contributing 3.69 points to the Hang Seng Index. According to a recent research report by HSBC Global Research, the investment rating for the electric energy industry was raised from “hold” to “buy”, and the target price was raised from HK$56 to HK$70, reflecting the favorable macro-environment of regulated utility assets and corporate actions with potential to add value.
In terms of other blue-chip stocks, Orient Overseas International (00316) rose 2.91% to HK$145, contributing 0.8 points to the Hang Seng Index; BYD Electronics (00285) rose 2.22% to HK$23.98, contributing 0.61 points to the Hang Seng Index; SMIC (00981) fell 9.97% to HK$67.7, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 48.14 points; Laopu Gold (06181) fell 6.27% to HK$350, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 2.35 points.
Popular sector aspects
On the market, large tech stocks generally fell, with Tencent falling more than 4% and Alibaba falling by more than 3%. The wave of sell-offs of global technology stocks accelerated, and AI hardware stocks such as storage concepts, chip stocks, and optical communications were hit hard; “Hou Mao” Zhaoyan Pharmaceutical issued risk alerts, and biomedical stocks ushered in adjustments; inflation expectations suppressed gold prices, spot gold fell below 4,000 US dollars, and gold stocks declined across the board; automobile stocks, robotics concepts, and aviation stocks declined one after another. On the other side, electricity consumption data is growing, and electricity stocks are flourishing against the market.
1. AI hardware stocks have suffered a severe setback. At the close, Jiantao Laminate (01888) fell 14.26% to HK$41.98; Huahong Hongli (01347) fell 11.88% to HK$138.7; Changfei Optical Fiber Cable (06869) fell 11.17% to HK$130.4; and GigaYi Innovation (03986) fell 11.08% to HK$533.5.
The wave of global technology stock sell-offs is spreading at an accelerated pace. Today, the Asia-Pacific stock market experienced its worst single-day decline since this year. Nikkei 225 fell more than 4%, Taiwan's weighted index fell more than 6%, and chip stocks became the “hardest hit area.” The US Stock Price Half Index took the lead in falling 4.29% last night, falling more than 16% since July. Some analysts pointed out that the speed and magnitude of the decline in major Asian stock indexes has begun to show the characteristics of panic selling, and investors are anxious to lock in the remaining gains of this year. Halfway through July, traders' book losses continued to accumulate, further exacerbating the deterioration of market sentiment.
The Guolian Security Fund said earlier that this round of overseas market sell-off stemmed from the loosening of traffic congestion on the AI hardware circuit. The market was worried that the AI hype in the early stages was too intense, and the funds collectively began to take risks and reduce positions. In the first half of the year, core circuits such as semiconductors, AI computing power, and optical modules emerged from strong markets. Most popular targets rose significantly during the year. The sector as a whole accumulated a large amount of floating profit chips, and the risk of short-term pullbacks continued to accumulate. The adjustment was the first to be launched from the popular target with the highest increase during the year, and has clear profit settlement characteristics.
2. Gold stocks declined across the board. At the close, Chifeng Gold (06693) fell 7.81% to HK$25.5; Zijin Gold International (02259) fell 6.76% to HK$96.5; Shandong Gold (01787) fell 6.13% to HK$17.15; and Zijin Mining (02899) fell 4.8% to HK$29.38.
The US carried out large-scale air raids on targets off Iran's southern coast for many nights, while Iran ordered the Yemeni Houthis to block the Mander Strait under specific conditions, and international oil prices responded quickly. The head of global commodity strategy at TD Securities pointed out that a further rise in oil prices will drive bond yields to rise further, and may even prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as early as September, putting continued pressure on gold. Furthermore, Dallas Federal Reserve Chairman Logan and Kansas Federal Reserve Chairman Schmid warned one after another that improving inflation in a single month is not enough to prove victory. If prices do not continue to fall, further policy tightening may still be an option.
3. Electricity stocks reversed the market and flourished. At the close, Datang New Energy (01798) rose 3.23% to HK$1.28; Huaneng International (00902) rose 3.21% to HK$5.79; and China Resources Electric (00836) rose 1.79% to HK$18.17.
The National Energy Administration released data such as the electricity consumption of the entire society for June. In June, the electricity consumption of the entire society was 898.1 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 3.7% over the previous year. Furthermore, in July, the country's electricity consumption continued to grow. On July 10, the country's electricity consumption reached a record high for the first time this year, reaching 1,518 million kilowatts, up more than 150 million kilowatts from the beginning of July, which is equivalent to an increase in Japan's electricity consumption load. Looking ahead to the future market, Guoyuan International believes that July-August is still a critical stage for the traditional peak of summer. If the hot weather continues, residents' cooling load and commercial load are still expected to pick up; at the same time, the boom in industrial production, charging and switching, and data centers will still provide bottom support.
Popular exotic stocks
Jiuxing Holdings (01836) reversed the market and rose higher. At the close, it was up 6.65% to HK$13.64.
Jiuxing Holdings announced that in the second quarter of this year, the Group's unaudited consolidated revenue increased by about 1.2% to US$449.3 million; in the first half of the year, unaudited consolidated revenue increased by about 1.5% to US$786.7 million. The company said it still promises to distribute up to 60 million US dollars in additional cash to shareholders in 2026 through a combination of share repurchases and special dividends, in addition to maintaining a dividend rate of about 70% to pay regular dividends (including final dividends and interim dividends).
TCL Electronics (01070) performed well. At the close, it was up 5.71% to HK$14.25.
TCL Electronics recently announced plans to acquire TCL Air Conditioning for HK$5.61 billion. Huachuang Securities believes that after air conditioning assets are injected, the company will move from a global TV leader to a smart terminal platform for all categories. The logic of increasing revenue volume and profit center is clear, the certainty of EPS growth is high, and the medium- to long-term value is clear.
The stock price of Yuejiang (02432) fell sharply. At the close, it was down 12.84% to HK$23.22.
At the key point of Yuejiang Technology's “H back to A”, Song Tao, who claims to be the co-founder, former executive vice president and COO of Yuejiang Technology, posted an article on his WeChat account in the early morning of July 17 that his real name reported that Yuejiang Technology and founder Liu Peichao had major equity flaws and concealment in the A-share prospectus, and that all materials had been officially submitted to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange for acceptance. According to the article, the entire prospectus misrepresented and deliberately covered up hundreds of millions of shareholding disputes.
Zhaoyan Pharmaceutical (06127 ) showed a significant correction. At the close, it was down 7.98% to HK$23.76.
Zhaoyan Pharmaceutical announced that the cumulative deviation value of the closing price increase of the company's shares exceeded 20% within three consecutive trading days. The company's stock price increased significantly in the short term. There is a risk of excessive market sentiment and irrational speculation. The transaction risk is extremely high, and there is a risk that the stock price will fall at any time. In addition, the fair value of the company's biological assets is affected by various uncertainties, and there is a high risk of value fluctuations.