Hong Kong's three major indices declined once again, with the Hang Seng Tech Index falling more than 3% intraday during the afternoon session, as strong U.S. jobs data fueled expectations for further interest rate hikes and Middle East tensions resurfaced.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 1.22%, or 304.89 points, at 24,657.06, with a total turnover of HK$363.98 billion. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.13% to 8,341.36, and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.71% to 4,755.91.
Key Market Themes
Huatai Securities noted that against the backdrop of emerging overseas liquidity risks, a short-term perspective suggests focusing on sectors that experienced significant short-selling pressure in previous adjustments and have stabilizing earnings expectations, such as discretionary retail and media, as well as defensive high-dividend stocks like banks. Regarding the AI hardware chain, the firm believes it currently lacks strong conditions for absolute returns and outperformance, with the next critical window being the U.S. earnings season in July.
Blue-Chip Movers
China Mengniu Dairy Company Ltd (HKEX: 02319) led the blue-chip gainers, closing up 3.15% at HK$16.39, contributing 2.43 points to the Hang Seng Index. Morgan Stanley research indicated a high probability (estimated 70-80%) that Mengniu's share price will rise in absolute terms over the next 15 days. The firm maintains its view that liquid milk will return to growth in 2026, forecasting overall sales growth of 5.5%.
Among other blue-chips, Longfor Group Holdings Ltd (HKEX: 00960) gained 2.7% to HK$7.99, contributing 0.81 index points. CNOOC Ltd (HKEX: 00883) rose 1.96% to HK$27.06, contributing 12.86 points. On the downside, China Molybdenum Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 03993) fell 6.31% to HK$16.94, dragging the index down by 6.77 points, and Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd (HKEX: 02600) dropped 5.86% to HK$10.12.
Sector Performance
Major technology stocks were broadly lower, with Alibaba down nearly 3% and Tencent falling over 1%. International oil prices surged more than 4% as conflict reignited between Iran and Israel, leading to an expansion of gains for oil and gas stocks in the afternoon. Excavator sales data for May exceeded expectations, boosting construction machinery stocks. Robotics-related concept stocks gained on positive catalysts. Some dairy, coal, and mainland bank stocks also advanced.
Conversely, strong U.S. jobs data fueled rate hike expectations, pressuring all non-ferrous metal stocks lower. Optical communication, semiconductor, and airline stocks also faced downward pressure.
1. Oil & Gas Stocks Rally
Oil and gas shares extended gains in the afternoon. SHANDONG MOLONG (HKEX: 00568) surged 25.75% to HK$6.74. PT Petrokimia Gresik Tbk (HKEX: 02178) rose 9.33% to HK$0.211. CNOOC Ltd (HKEX: 00883) gained 1.96% to HK$27.06.
On June 8, international oil prices spiked, with WTI and Brent crude both jumping over 4%. Reports indicated Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on an Israeli airbase, marking its first such attack since a ceasefire took effect in April. Further reports stated Israeli forces had intercepted missiles from Iran, triggering air raid sirens in Jerusalem.
2. Robotics Concept in Focus
Some robotics-related stocks performed strongly. ESTUN (HKEX: 02715) climbed 12.33% to HK$20.40. 51VR Global Ltd (HKEX: 06651) advanced 13.74% to HK$144.00. LeDong Robot Ltd (HKEX: 01236) increased 7.40% to HK$39.20. UBTECH Robotics Corp Ltd (HKEX: 09880) rose 6.71% to HK$117.70.
The sector has seen multiple catalysts recently, including Unitree Technology's successful IPO application on the STAR Market and Nvidia's announcement of collaboration with Unitree on a new generation of humanoid robots. Nvidia's CEO also stated that robotics and physical AI are the next key focus for industrial development. Notably, Tesla's humanoid robot production is accelerating, with its Fremont factory line upgrade completed and mass production expected to start in July-August 2026, targeting an annual capacity of one million units, with a V3 version potentially debuting by late June.
3. Construction Machinery Gains
Construction machinery stocks rose against the market trend. SANY HEAVY IND (HKEX: 06031) jumped 7.68% to HK$21.44. China Longgong Group Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 03339) gained 4.87% to HK$2.80. Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 01157) increased 3.51% to HK$7.97.
According to data from the China Construction Machinery Association, sales of excavators in May 2026 reached 24,794 units, a year-on-year increase of 36.2%. Domestic sales grew 38.6% to 11,628 units, while exports rose 34.2% to 13,166 units. Oriental Securities noted that May's excavator sales growth exceeded expectations, with exports maintaining rapid growth, indicating sustained high overseas demand. The firm believes Chinese engineering machinery companies' competitiveness in international markets continues to strengthen, reflecting high domestic manufacturing and operational efficiency with minimal impact from exchange rates. Recent price increases for products are also seen as beneficial for long-term profitability improvement. The firm remains positive on the investment opportunity presented by the overseas expansion of the engineering machinery sector.
4. Metals Sector Under Pressure
Non-ferrous metal stocks were among the worst performers. CHINFMINING (HKEX: 01258) tumbled 8.17% to HK$13.38. Zijin Mining Group International Ltd (HKEX: 02259) dropped 8.78% to HK$107.00. China Molybdenum Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 03993) fell 6.31% to HK$16.94. Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd (HKEX: 02600) declined 5.86% to HK$10.12.
The U.S. Labor Statistics Bureau reported non-farm payrolls increased by 172,000 in May, nearly double the market expectation of 88,000. Goldman Sachs economists no longer expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year due to the stronger-than-anticipated labor market, pushing their forecast for the final two rate cuts to June and December 2027 from previous estimates of December 2026 and March 2027. Guotai Junan Securities highlighted that while supply-demand balance sheets are important in a tight market, the core influence of macro factors on metal price trends is more critical, with monetary policy, macro expectations, geopolitical tensions, and supply disruptions being key determinants.
Notable Individual Stock Movements
CON AERO TECH (HKEX: 00232) soared 90.59% to HK$0.385 on heavy volume. The company announced an agreement to sell the entire issued share capital of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Motto Investment Limited, whose business primarily involves general aviation aircraft piston engines. The expected sale consideration is between $500 million and $520 million. The board proposed distributing the entire proceeds as a special dividend related to the disposal and applying for the withdrawal of the company's listing status post-completion.
ILUVATAR COREX (HKEX: 09903) rose 12.68% to HK$462.00. The Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges announced adjustments to the list of southbound trading eligible securities under the Stock Connect scheme, adding Iluvatar Corex among others, effective June 8. Guotai Junan noted that Iluvatar Corex is a leading domestic provider of general-purpose GPU products and AI computing power solutions, focusing on AI training GPUs, AI inference GPUs, AI computing servers/clusters, and supporting software ecosystems.
Shares related to the "Kingboard" group were strong. Kingboard Holdings Ltd (HKEX: 00148) surged 15.08% to HK$71.75. Kingboard Laminates Holdings Ltd (HKEX: 01888) climbed 12.08% to HK$55.95. Citigroup research stated that due to higher-than-expected recent price inflation for electronic glass fabric, it continues to prefer Kingboard Laminates over Kingboard Holdings for its stronger potential for earnings upgrades. The bank believes the higher-than-expected price increases for electronic glass fabric will soon translate into average selling price inflation for copper-clad laminates, potentially as early as the end of this month.
Shenghong Technology Group Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 02476) plunged 8.19% to HK$338.40. Recent online rumors involved the company's senior management. The company stated it has noted the related information but clarified that the content of the online video and related information is unrelated to its production and operational activities, does not involve corporate governance, internal controls, or any material information requiring disclosure, and will not affect its daily operations.
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