Hong Kong stocks closed (07.30) | Hang Seng Index closed up 0.2%, AI hardware stocks continued to decline, surged nearly 19% after New Oriental-S (09901) results
The Zhitong Finance App learned that the Federal Reserve's interest rate discussions remained unchanged, but internal hawkish differences were obvious. Meanwhile, the US-Iran conflict once again escalated and oil prices skyrocketed. Hong Kong stocks opened high and low today, and the Hang Seng Index successfully turned red at the end of the session. At the close, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.2% or 50.96 points to 25858.88 points, with a full day turnover of HK$34.894 billion; the Hang Seng State-owned Enterprises Index rose 0.25% to 8644.71 points; and the Hang Seng Technology Index fell 1.25% to 4803.77 points.
Everbright Securities believes that the current market's response to negative factors is sufficient, such as the ongoing escalation of the US-Iran geopolitical conflict and the pressure to absorb the AI sector's valuation, etc., but the overall fundamentals of the domestic economy are still weak. The intensity of China's economic recovery and the sustainability of corporate profits still need more data verification, and the market lacks the most critical driving force to drive trending markets. Currently, the Hong Kong stock market, especially the Hang Seng Technology Index, is in a complicated phase of bottoming out.
Blue-chip stock performance
New Oriental-S (09901) led the blue chip. At the close, it rose 18.84% to HK$47.44, with a turnover of HK$708 million, contributing 8.75 points to the Hang Seng Index. New Oriental's fourth fiscal quarter revenue was US$1.53 billion, up 23% year over year, mainly driven by strong growth in core education business; net profit due to US$62.2 million, up 775.8% year on year. Looking ahead to fiscal year 2027, the company expects net revenue to be between US$6.45 billion and US$6.68 billion, with a year-on-year increase of between 14% and 18%.
In terms of other blue-chip stocks, JD Logistics (02618) rose 3.62% to HK$15.16, contributing 2.15 points; CNOOC (00883) rose 2.89% to HK$24.18, contributing 16.2 points to the Hang Seng Index; SMIC (00981) fell 7.74% to HK$62, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 33.35 points; and Sinosheng Pharmaceuticals (01177) fell 3.25% to HK$5.06, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 2.68 points.
Popular sector aspects
On the market, large technology stocks had mixed ups and downs. Alibaba fell more than 1%, while Tencent rose 1.16%. AI hardware stocks continued to decline, and semiconductors, optical communications, etc. fell collectively. On the other side, the national standard for heating cigarettes was solicited, and the tobacco concept rose throughout the day; fuel prices rose sharply during the war between the US and Iran, and all oil and gas stocks rose; the education concept had the highest increase. New Oriental's fourth fiscal quarter results exceeded expectations, and stock prices surged by nearly 19%; major meetings emphasized stabilizing pigs, and Muyuan shares rallied at the end of the session; domestic banks, beer stocks, and insurance stocks were active.
Tobacco concept stocks have been strong throughout the day. At the close, Huabao International (00336) rose 7.77% to HK$3.33; Smore International (06969) rose 6.21% to HK$9.41; and China Tobacco Hong Kong (06055) rose 5.91% to HK$25.1.
Following the launch of the mandatory national standard for “heated cigarettes” on April 7, 2026, the National Tobacco Administration has organized and completed a draft for comments on the national standard for “heated cigarettes”. The “Draft for Comments” was issued on July 28. The consultation period ends on September 26, 2026, and is scheduled to be officially implemented 6 months after publication. CITIC Construction Investment believes that the formulation of national standards provides a technical basis for supervision, or may mean that the domestic market for HNB products will continue to be liberalized. The liberalization of the domestic market for HNB products continues to advance. A number of tobacco supporting supply chain companies have taken the lead in laying out relevant links in the industrial chain and are expected to benefit from the market opportunities brought about by the liberalization of HNB.
The oil and gas concept is showing vigor. At the close, CNOOC (00883) rose 2.89% to HK$24.18; CNPC (00857) rose 2.22% to HK$10.15; and Kunlun Energy (00135) rose 2.22% to HK$7.37.
On Wednesday, oil futures surged nearly 7%. With the resumption of major air strikes in the Middle East, the market's hopes that the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran will soon be over has been dashed; at the same time, industry data shows that US crude oil inventories are falling, which further supports the rise in oil prices. UBS analysts said that the resumption of military strikes in the Middle East and Iranian officials once again emphasized their desire to control shipping activities in the Strait of Hormuz. Currently, oil flow in the strait is sluggish, and these factors are once again driving up oil prices. US President Trump said a few hours before the Federal Reserve's decision was announced that he would carry out a retaliatory attack on Iran, and oil prices then rose further.
The five major companies have reached a record high. At the close, Agricultural Bank (01288) rose 3.01% to HK$6.51; ICBC (01398) rose 2.14% to HK$7.64; CCB (00939) rose 1.63% to HK$9.36; and Bank of China (03988) rose 1.09% to HK$5.54.
Close to the mid-report window, superimposed hardware technology experienced the biggest slump in the year, and capital flocked to dividend defense due to weak wind. Meanwhile, two major institutions, Guoxin and Chengtong, previously issued announcements to increase their holdings to stabilize capital market expectations. With the concentration of domestic broad-based ETFs, it is also beneficial to the partial money-making effect of banks and other important sectors. Zheshang Securities believes that bank stocks are entering a gold allocation window where winning rates and odds resonate in the second half of the year. In the long-term macro context of low interest rates and scarce assets, bank stocks have both “debt-like attributes” and “positive economic recovery options,” and are scarce assets worth focusing on. If risk appetite changes in the future, lower tier banks may usher in a good allocation opportunity.
AI hardware stocks continue to decline. At the close, Cambridge Technology (06166) fell 12.9% to HK$61.8; Changfei Optical Fiber Cable (06869) fell 10.51% to HK$92; Huahong Hongli (01347) fell 8.26% to HK$125.5; and Jiantao Laminate (01888) fell 7.61% to HK$29.14.
Over the past month, AI transactions have cooled down markedly. Overnight, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell sharply by 5.33%. It has been declining for the 5th consecutive trading day, with a cumulative decline of about 15%. It has retreated 27% from its June high, crossing the technical bear market threshold. Some analysts believe that in a situation where AI hardware transactions are extremely crowded, the three factors combined to break the “price increase bottleneck” narrative of AI hardware, concerns about debt financing, increased competitiveness of China's big models, and breakthroughs in domestic equipment. Coupled with deleveraging, global AI trading ushered in a broad pullback.
Popular exotic stocks
Zhongji Xuchuang (03308) debuted. At the close, it fell 2.04% to HK$960.
Optical module leader Zhongji Xuchuang landed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today, completing the “A+H” listing, raising the largest number of new shares of Hong Kong stocks to date in 2026, breaking the IPO record within the new year, and becoming the largest IPO for Hong Kong stocks after Ali returned to Hong Kong in 2019. On the first day of listing, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange introduced monthly and weekly stock options. Previously, only a few companies such as ICBC, AIA, Xiaomi, and Ali enjoyed this treatment.
Fosun International (00656) is pleased. At the close, it was up 7.88% to HK$4.79.
Fosun International expects profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company in the first half of 2026 to approximately RMB 1.5 billion to RMB 1.8 billion, an increase of about 127% to 172% over the previous year. The board of directors believes that this increase is mainly due to the strong resilience of the core industry in the first half of 2026, the steady improvement in operating quality, and the significant increase in industrial operating profit compared to the same period last year.
Cyrus (09927) was higher throughout the day. At the close, it was up 7.33 percent to HK$48.04.
The factory inspection and delivery ceremony for M6 users was solemnly held at the Chongqing Celis Gigafactory (Longxing). The successful completion of this delivery ceremony marks the official start of delivery of the Wenjie M6 Pure Electric Max+. According to reports, the recent launch of the Questionnaire M6 and the facelifted Questionnaire M9 have shown some potential for explosive models. The new-generation Quanjie M9 series has definitely surpassed 42,000 units in one month, and over 30,000 units have been delivered in 54 days of launch.
Makihara shares (02714) moved higher at the end of the session. At the close, it rose 4.16% to HK$33.58.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting on July 30. The meeting emphasized stabilizing the production and prices of agricultural and livestock products such as pigs. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on July 16, there were 37.8 million breeding sows nationwide at the end of the second quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 2.63 million, a decrease of 6.5%, and an increase of 3.2 percentage points over the first quarter.