On October 20, Hong Kong's three major stock indices all declined. As of the midday close, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.95% to 23,956.93, the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 1.21%, and the State-Owned Enterprises Index declined 0.89%.
On the trading floor, tech internet stocks broadly declined, with Lenovo Group Ltd (HKEX: 0992) plunging over 7% and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (HKEX: 9988) falling over 3%. Innovative drug concept stocks bucked the trend and moved higher, with Lepu Biopharma Co Ltd (HKEX: 2157) surging over 8%. Lithium battery stocks led the declines, with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (HKEX: 3750) dropping over 6%. Gold stocks slumped, with Zijin Gold International Co Ltd (HKEX: 2259) falling over 6%.
Innovative drug concept stocks bucked the trend, Lepu Biopharma up over 8%.
The 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Congress will be held from October 23 to 27. A total of 29 Chinese innovative drug studies have been selected for the latest breakthrough abstracts at this year's congress, accounting for approximately one-third of the total and reaching a record high. Among them, 5 studies have been elevated to the congress's highest-tier Presidential Symposium, achieving a dual breakthrough in both quantity and quality. Century Securities believes that this year's ESMO is expected to serve as an important milestone for domestic innovative drugs transitioning from early-stage efficacy demonstration to global Phase III validation. The disclosure of major data is expected to further verify the clinical competitiveness and global commercialization value of domestic molecules. Investors may pay attention to domestic innovative drug companies with late-stage global pipelines in hand.
Lithium battery stocks led the declines, CATL down over 6%.
As a traditional peak production season, the production scheduling data at the start of the fourth quarter fell short of previously optimistic market estimates. Citi released its latest research report noting that third-party consulting firm ZE Consulting has officially lowered its October 2026 battery production pipeline forecast. The overall production pipeline of the top five battery manufacturers grew only 1% month-on-month, significantly below the 7% month-on-month growth expected in the previous preview survey.
Gold stocks slumped, Zijin Gold International down over 6%.
International gold prices once again fell into oscillation around $4,100. In addition, gold companies have密集 released their third-quarter earnings. Zijin Gold International announced that profit attributable to owners of the parent company for the first three quarters increased significantly by 123% year-on-year. Zhaojin Mining Industry reported third-quarter results with operating revenue of 13.51 billion yuan, up 8.69% year-on-year. China National Gold Group Gold Jewellery Co Ltd is expected to see net profit growth of 50.05% to 57.66% for the first three quarters.
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