Hong Kong Stock Market Closing (07.23) | Hang Seng Index rose by 1.62%, tech stocks surged, Tencent increased by nearly 5%, reaching a four-year high

According to Zhitong Finance APP, Hong Kong stocks fluctuated higher throughout the day, with the Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index once again reaching new highs for the year. The Hang Seng TECH Index rose over 2.5% in the afternoon. By the close, the Hang Seng Index was up 1.62% or 408.04 points, closing at 25,538.07 points, with significant trading activity in the market, totaling HKD 333.067 billion for the day; the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.82%, closing at 9,241.2 points; the Hang Seng TECH Index rose 2.48%, closing at 5,745.74 points.

Puyin International believes that Hong Kong stocks have performed remarkably among major global stock markets this year. In the early stages of the market, breakthroughs in AI technology significantly improved market sentiment, and Hong Kong stocks, as a "value lowland," have greatly increased their attractiveness to global funds. In the short term, the bank expects funds to rotate from crowded sectors such as new consumption, innovative drugs, and banks to technology sectors with lower crowding, lower valuations, and performance likely to exceed expectations.

Blue Chip Performance

Tencent Holdings (00700) reached a new high in over four years, with a market capitalization exceeding HKD 5 trillion. By the close, it was up 4.94%, closing at HKD 552, with a trading volume of HKD 25.435 billion, contributing 96.87 points to the Hang Seng Index. First Shanghai pointed out that Tencent's continued investment in AI capabilities and platform-level synergy strategies have begun to show results, with core scenarios such as advertising, gaming, and WeChat AI all building new growth momentum. Considering the multiple acceleration effects of AI on advertising revenue efficiency, cost reduction in game content production, and reconstruction of social platforms, it is expected that the profit margins of its core business will steadily improve.

In other blue chip stocks, Kuaishou-W (01024) rose 7.08%, closing at HKD 77.9, contributing 24.55 points to the Hang Seng Index; Baidu Group-SW (09888) rose 6.08%, closing at HKD 93.3, contributing 10.7 points to the Hang Seng Index; Chow Tai Fook (01929) fell 4.71%, closing at HKD 13.34, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 2.13 points; China Biologic Products (01177) fell 3.04%, closing at HKD 6.69, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 3.44 points.

Popular Sectors

On the market, large technology stocks rose across the board today, with Kuaishou soaring over 7%, Baidu rising over 6%, and Tencent rising nearly 5%. Overseas CRO company Medpace's second-quarter performance exceeded expectations, leading to a strong performance in CRO concept stocks; brokerage stocks reported clear and better-than-expected semi-annual results, and Hong Kong Monetary Authority President Yu Weiwen discussed stablecoins again, resulting in strong performances in brokerage and stablecoin concept stocks; paper industry stocks, AI concept stocks, and others were also active. On the other hand, power equipment, cement, and engineering machinery stocks significantly corrected, with Dongfang Electric falling over 10% and Huaxin Cement falling over 9%; photovoltaic stocks and Hong Kong retail service providers weakened.

1. Tech stocks surged. By the close, Kuaishou-W (01024) was up 7.08%, closing at HKD 77.9; Baidu Group-SW (09888) was up 6.08%, closing at HKD 93.3; Tencent (00700) was up 4.94%, closing at HKD 552; Meituan-W (03690) was up 3.26%, closing at HKD 133.2; Alibaba-W (09988) was up 2.46%, closing at HKD 120.9 The White House had previously planned to designate July 23 as "Artificial Intelligence Action Day," announcing the AI action plan and arranging public events to attract public attention to related efforts. In addition, Huatai Securities pointed out that the negative factors suppressing the profit outlook of technology companies have improved recently. 1) The profit pressure from the "takeout war" on leading internet companies may ease ahead of schedule. On the 18th, the State Administration for Market Regulation held discussions with major takeout platform companies, requiring them to compete rationally. Previously, the market expected this competition to continue until the end of 2025 or into 2026. 2) New catalysts have emerged in the AI market. Last week, the U.S. approved Nvidia's sale of H20 chips to China, which is expected to further enhance the capital expenditure speed of domestic companies, combined with important events such as the Kimi K2 open source, leading to new catalysts in the AI market.

2. The CRO concept performed brilliantly. As of the close, Fangda Holdings (01521) rose 15.94% to HKD 1.6; Kanglong Chemical (03759) rose 7.68% to HKD 19.36; Genscript Biotech (01548) rose 6.7% to HKD 18.16; Zhaoyan New Drug (06127) rose 3.89% to HKD 21.35.

On Tuesday Eastern Time, the stock price of overseas CRO company Medpace soared nearly 54.7%. The financial report showed that in the second quarter, Medpace's revenue and EBITDA both increased by more than 10% year-on-year, exceeding analysts' expectations by over 11%, and it raised its revenue and profit guidance for this year by at least 11%. Zhongtai Securities pointed out that the CRO and CDMO sectors are gradually recovering due to multiple factors, including the start of the overseas interest rate cut cycle in Q4 2024, improvement in pessimistic expectations from geopolitical negotiations in Q2 2025, and the landing of large-scale domestic innovative drug business development and significant policy releases since 2025. Coupled with the continuous clearing of the supply side over the past three years, the sector is expected to experience a "Davis Double Play" with simultaneous profit and valuation increases.

3. Chinese brokerage stocks continue to rise. As of the close, Guolian Minsheng (01456) rose 5.46% to HKD 5.99; Zhongzhou Securities (01375) rose 4.85% to HKD 2.81; Huatai Securities (06866) rose 4.15% to HKD 18.06; CITIC Securities (06066) rose 3.88% to HKD 12.84.

Recently, listed brokerages have successively disclosed their performance reports and forecasts for the first half of the year. According to Donghai Securities, the firm has compiled and analyzed data from 31 brokerages that have disclosed their results, estimating that the net profit of these 31 brokerages is expected to grow by 94% year-on-year. Donghai Securities believes that the framework for high-quality development has basically taken shape, the trend of open cooperation will continue to deepen, the effectiveness and direction of building first-class investment banks remain unchanged, and the optimization of classification evaluation indicators will promote business refinement and efficiency improvement. It is recommended to grasp the logical main lines including mergers and acquisitions, wealth management transformation, innovative license operations, and ROE enhancement.

4. Some stablecoin concepts are active. As of the close, Zhong An Online (06060) rose 7.5% to HKD 19.78; Delin Holdings (01709) rose 6.55% to HKD 3.74; Lianyi Rong Technology-W (09959) rose 5.13% to HKD 2.46; Guotai Junan International (01788) rose 1.89%, closing at HKD 5.94.

The President of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Eddie Yu, published an article discussing stablecoins again. Eddie Yu stated that after the "Stablecoin Regulation" is passed, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will immediately implement the regulatory and anti-money laundering guidelines and seek market opinions. Currently, they are appropriately adjusting the requirements of the guidelines based on feedback, aiming to announce them by the end of July. In addition, Eddie Yu mentioned that a summary of the "Stablecoin Issuer Licensing System" will be released next week, which will outline the arrangements for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to accept and process license applications. Zheshang Securities pointed out that with the Hong Kong "Stablecoin Regulation" officially taking effect on August 1, and the procedural voting of the U.S. "GENIUS Act," the global regulatory framework for stablecoins is accelerating.

Popular Stocks with Significant Movements

1. Superstar Legend (06683) surged in early trading, closing up 24.09% at HKD 11.54.

Superstar Legend soared again today, with an intraday increase of over 40%. On July 9, Chinese pop superstar Jay Chou officially announced his presence on Douyin, naming his account after his official secondary dimension IP image "Zhou Tongxue," with the avatar also being the "Zhou Tongxue" IP incarnation. The driving force behind the "Zhou Tongxue" IP is the "Jay Chou concept stock" Superstar Legend. Its business is divided into two main sectors: IP creation and operation, and new consumption.

2. Nio-SW (09866) continued to rise, closing up 8.97% at HKD 39.5.

Nio Chairman and CEO Li Bin posted on Weibo on July 22, stating that starting July 23, the Nio L90 will fully launch its dynamic test drive experience. It is reported that on July 10, the Nio L90 officially opened for pre-sale, with the vehicle priced from 279,900 yuan, and battery rental starting from 193,900 yuan, set to officially launch at the end of July and commence deliveries on August 1.

3. WuXi AppTec (02268) hit a new high, closing up 8.6% at HKD 53.65.

WuXi AppTec announced that it expects revenue in the first half of 2025 to grow by over 60% year-on-year, with adjusted net profit (excluding interest income and expenses) expected to grow by over 67%, and net profit expected to grow by over 50% year-on-year. Citigroup indicated that the company's management attributes strong growth to high customer demand in the ADC industry, the company's leading market position with a high market share, and improved utilization of production facilities.

4. QuanFeng Holdings (02285) issued a profit warning, closing up 6.74% at HKD 19.

QuanFeng Holdings issued a profit warning, expecting to achieve a net profit of approximately USD 90 million to 100 million for the half-year ending June 30, 2025, compared to a net profit of approximately USD 61.6 million in the same period last year, representing a year-on-year increase of about 50%. This is mainly driven by revenue growth, especially from the growth of the company's own brand business; contributions from the high-margin brand EGO; favorable factors such as exchange rates; and one-time gains from sales activities 5. Jianfa International Group (01908) stock price under pressure, as of the close, down 3.81%, reported at HKD 16.68.

Jianfa International announced a placement of 64.6 million shares in a way that prioritizes old shares over new, accounting for approximately 2.88% of the expanded share capital, at a price of HKD 15.8 per share, which is about an 8.88% discount compared to the closing price of HKD 17.34 on July 22. The net fundraising is expected to be approximately HKD 1.011 billion, with about 80% used to repay loans and about 20% for general working capital