Hong Kong's three major indices opened lower and drifted down, with the Hang Seng Index once again losing the 24,000 mark, weighed by Nvidia's sudden leadership change and rising oil prices amid Iran-related tensions. At the close, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.55% or 370.95 points to 23,637.60, with total daily turnover of HK$195.857 billion; the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 1.48% to 7,937.53; and the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 3.02% to 3,813.19. For the full week, the Hang Seng Index fell 3.45%, the China Enterprises Index lost 4.07%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index tumbled 6.50%. Analysts at Zhongtai International believe the probability of a U.S. rate hike in December remains above 70%, and combined with December being a peak period for Hong Kong stock lock-up expirations, the investment sentiment in Hong Kong stocks is expected to remain sluggish. Shenwan Hongyuan recently noted that the "value clearly outperforming growth" theme in Hong Kong stocks for 2026 is mainly due to a double blow to technology sector earnings and valuations. Looking ahead to 2027, the global trading theme may shift, leaving room for mean reversion in Hong Kong stocks.
Among blue-chip stocks, PetroChina (00857) led gains against the trend. At the close, it rose 2.79% to HK$10.33, with turnover of HK$1.053 billion. Uncertain progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations boosted oil prices, with Brent crude returning above US$95 overnight. U.S. President Trump said on November 12 that the United States "does not need" to reach a deal with Iran. Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated on the 13th that it had struck and destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain that day. Among other blue-chip stocks, Sunny Optical Technology (02382) rose 2.41% to HK$65.85; Midea Group (00300) gained 1.09% to HK$101.6; Bank of China (03988) added 0.64% to HK$6.28; and Lenovo Group (00992) dropped 6.33% to HK$17.62.
In terms of hot sectors, capital rotated out of the AI computing chain toward high-dividend and defensive assets. Oil stocks performed well against the trend, supported by geopolitical premiums and better-than-expected third-quarter earnings; Chinese banks rose across the board, lifted by A-share bank stocks hitting historic highs; pork concept stocks rebounded from lows as the breeding sow inventory broke below the regulatory threshold for the first time, reinforcing expectations for capacity reduction; the AI industrial chain, including optical communications and PCBs, came under broad pressure, with Zhongji Innolight (03308) falling about 10%, while SMIC surged over 7% after earnings before reversing into negative territory; internet stocks, gold stocks, and auto stocks weakened.
Pork concept stocks were active against the market trend. At the close, Muyuan Foods (02714) rose 4.55% to HK$40.4; COFCO Joycome (01610) gained 2.95% to HK$1.22. According to monitoring data, the national average price of external three-way crossbred pigs on November 13, 2026, was 8.71 yuan per kilogram, up 0.13 yuan per kilogram from the previous day. Nationwide, pig prices in many regions across the north and south reversed their previous one-way weakening trend, with the market seeing a phased bottom rebound. However, industry participants generally cautioned that this round of rebound is more of an emotional recovery after excessive declines, and whether pig prices can sustain the rebound and how high they can go remains to be further verified by the market. Huatai Securities stated that the recent second bottoming of pig prices exceeded market and industry expectations, intensifying cash flow losses in the sector, which may drive breeding sow capacity reduction beyond expectations, opening up room for future pig price elasticity and sustainability.
Oil stocks edged higher. At the close, PetroChina (00857) rose 2.79% to HK$10.33; Sinopec (00386) gained 1.71% to HK$4.75; and China Oilfield Services (02883) added 0.43% to HK$6.93. Overnight, overseas markets reversed early losses to close higher. The WTI December contract settled at US$88.74 per barrel, up 2.55%; the Brent January contract settled at US$95.82 per barrel, up 3.3%. Trump said on social media on the 12th that the United States no longer needs to reach a deal with Iran, that those days are long gone, that the U.S. controls Iranian funds and the strait, and demanded that Vance turn to domestic affairs. This statement cooled reports from the previous day that Vance would meet with Rezaei and had been authorized to do so. Iran simultaneously hardened its stance, with Rezaei saying no enriched uranium would be allowed to leave the country, that the strait would remain closed until seven conditions are met, and that if the U.S. strikes again, the scope of retaliation would extend to U.S. military bases in Europe.
The AI industrial chain came under collective pressure. At the close, Kingwong Electronics (03228) fell 13.73% to HK$48.96; Victory Giant Technology (02476) dropped 13.46% to HK$100.3; Zhongji Innolight (03308) declined 9.39% to HK$588.5; and Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (06869) fell 7.28% to HK$88.5. The AI hardware industrial chain deepened its decline in the afternoon, and South Korea's KOSPI index also gave back its 3% gain, with foreign investors turning from buyers to sellers. On Thursday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigned, with CFO Colette Kress appointed as interim CEO, and the market is concerned that this management upheaval will affect optical module, high-speed connector, server, and PCB manufacturers that are deeply tied to Nvidia. Some analysts believe the market was already skeptical about the scale of AI spending, debt financing, and investment returns, and if uncertainty about succession and operational prospects persists, valuations across the entire AI sector could come under further pressure.
Gold stocks weakened along with gold prices. At the close, Zijin Gold International (02259) fell 4.19% to HK$121.2; Zijin Mining (02899) dropped 3.79% to HK$26.88; and Shandong Gold Mining (01787) declined 2.30% to HK$17.44. Affected by rising U.S. Treasury yields, a stronger dollar, and a密集 of hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials, gold prices fell below US$3,860 on Thursday, hitting a more than one-year low. Geopolitical instability has intensified inflation concerns, with U.S. President Trump recently stating that the United States does not need to reach a deal with Iran. CITIC Futures noted that in the near term, gold is expected to remain range-bound under pressure, with focus on this week's PPI data, Fed statements, and short-term rate movements. If price pressures continue to exceed expectations, discussions of more aggressive rate hikes could further weigh on gold prices.
Among notable movers, ADASPACE (06935) broke below its IPO price on its debut. At the close, it fell 3.53% to HK$24.02. ADASPACE is a space AI company dedicated to building space computing infrastructure that empowers artificial intelligence, providing space computing and AI technology products and services globally. The company set its offer price at HK$24.90 per share. The public offering portion was 3.43 times oversubscribed, while the international offering portion was 1.79 times oversubscribed. China Ruyi (00136) surged against the trend. At the close, it rose 10.23% to HK$1.455. China Ruyi announced in September this year that the group is actively advancing a long-term strategy of empowering its core content business with technology. Leveraging its industrial foundation in film and television, gaming, streaming, and intellectual property reserves, the group is closely connecting script creation, asset generation, distribution and operations, and user interaction through AI technology. Samsonite (01910) rose after earnings. At the close, it gained 5.30% to HK$15.51. Samsonite's third-quarter net sales were US$873 million, flat year-on-year, or up 0.6% at constant exchange rates; profit attributable to equity holders was US$58.1 million, down 21.0% year-on-year. The company also announced that it will implement a further share buyback plan under its 2026 share repurchase authorization starting November 13, 2026. BOSS Zhipin-W (02076) plunged. At the close, it fell 24.69% to HK$48.54. CICC expects the company's third-quarter revenue to grow 11.4% year-on-year to 2.41 billion yuan, near the lower end of previous company guidance; Non-GAAP operating profit to grow 15.2% year-on-year to 1.04 billion yuan. The firm noted that short-term recruitment demand is weakening and lowered its 2026 and 2027 revenue forecasts by 2% and 4% to 9.06 billion yuan and 9.86 billion yuan, and cut its Non-GAAP net profit forecasts by 5% and 4% to 3.77 billion yuan and 4.15 billion yuan. Junda Shares (02865) was under pressure all day. At the close, it fell 9.55% to HK$12.13. Junda Shares decided to terminate its Oman 5GW high-efficiency cell production base project. The announcement stated that since the project was initiated, the external operating environment and project implementation conditions have changed significantly, including intensified international trade friction, rising geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, and changes in photovoltaic technology export policies, and after prudent study, the company decided to terminate the Oman project.
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