Hong Kong Stock Market Close on April 22, 2026: Optical Communications Lead Gains Against Trend, Tech and Lithium Batteries Plunge

On April 22, the three major Hong Kong stock indices closed lower collectively. The Hang Seng Index reported 26,163.24 points, down 1.22%; the Hang Seng Tech Index reported 4,963.94 points, down 1.93%; the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index reported 8,801.78 points, down 1.59%. The total daily turnover was HKD 228.303 billion. The market showed clear structural divergence, with optical communications and AI hardware strengthening against the trend, while internet tech and lithium battery sectors led the decline.

Top Gainers

Optical Communications/AI Computing Power: Cambridge Technology (06166) rose 21.08%, Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (06869) rose 17.16%, Extreme Vision (06636) rose 25.15%, PATEO (02586) rose 27.86%. Catalyzed by the Google Cloud Next '26 conference, market expectations that the new-generation TPU architecture will boost demand for optical modules, coupled with high-growth forecasts for AI optical modules, led to concentrated capital inflows into the sector.

Other Strong Performers: China Paint Group (01932) rose 36.55%, AV CONCEPT HOLD (00595) rose 38.89%, Jia Yao Holdings (01626) rose 36.30%, mostly driven by event-driven factors or speculative capital in small-cap stocks.

Top Losers

Internet Tech: Bilibili - W (09626) fell 5.75%, Alibaba - SW (09988) fell 3.52%, Tencent Holdings (00700) and Meituan - W (03690) both fell over 2%. Tech and internet stocks weakened across the board.

Lithium Batteries: CATL (03750) fell 5.03%, Leoch International (00842) fell 7.63%, Gotion High-tech (03677) fell 7.76%, dragged down by share reduction news and sector sentiment.

Profit Warnings: Johnson Electric Holdings (00179) fell 17.06%, Yue Yuen Industrial (00551) fell 10.25%, both triggered sell-offs due to the release of annual profit warnings indicating significant earnings declines.

Market Core Logic

Externally, the expiration of the US-Iran ceasefire and escalating geopolitical risks, combined with the overnight broad decline of US-listed Chinese stocks, suppressed Hong Kong market risk appetite. Internally, a pattern of "strong hard tech, weak soft tech" emerged. Sectors like AI computing power and optical communications attracted capital favor due to high industry growth and event catalysts, while sectors like internet and new energy weakened under dual pressure from sentiment and fundamentals.$Hang Seng Index(00HSI.HK) $Hang Seng TECH Index(STECH.HK) $Hang Seng China Enterprises Index(HSCEI.HK) $CIG(06166.HK) $YOFC(06869.HK) $EXTREME VISION(06636.HK)