On March 6, the Hong Kong stock market saw net southbound capital outflows totaling HK$2.188 billion. Specifically, the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect recorded net outflows of HK$1.464 billion, while the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect registered net outflows of HK$724 million.
The top stocks attracting net buying from southbound capital were Tencent (00700), Meituan-W (03690), and YS Biopharma (02617). In contrast, the stocks facing the largest net sell-offs were Alibaba-W (09988), SMIC (00981), and Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (06869).
Tencent (00700) received net inflows of HK$2.261 billion. Market developments include recent announcements from Google's parent company regarding systematic reforms to the Google Play store, reducing the standard service fee for in-app purchases from the long-standing 30% to 20%, lowering subscription fees to 10%, and fully opening up third-party payment systems and app stores. Citi noted in a research report that Google Play's policy changes may represent a significant milestone in mobile platform fee structures, potentially benefiting Chinese gaming companies with substantial overseas mobile publishing operations and encouraging more studios to explore international opportunities.
Meituan-W (03690) attracted net inflows of HK$798 million. The company's Lightyear Beyond team recently announced the public beta of its new product, the Tabbit AI browser, entering a market long dominated by Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. This marks another significant move by Meituan in the AI application sector following the launch of its "Deep Research" intelligent agent in February 2026, signaling an acceleration in its AI strategy implementation and potentially reshaping competition in the domestic AI browser landscape.
Oil and gas stocks showed mixed performance. Popular Utilities Group (01635) saw net inflows of HK$7.35 million, while Shandong Molong Petroleum Machinery (00568) and CNOOC (00883) experienced net outflows of HK$39.53 million and HK$137 million, respectively. Reports indicated that vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had dropped to single-digit levels, with only two commercial ships recorded passing in the past 24 hours. WTI crude futures rose by 4% to $84.297 per barrel, hitting a new high since July 2024, while Brent crude futures increased nearly 2% to $86.911 per barrel.
Alibaba-W (09988) faced net outflows of HK$630 million. On March 5, Alibaba officially refuted rumors, clarifying that its Qwen model team remains stable with no collective resignations, and related products and services are operating normally. The company emphasized that Qwen will maintain its open-source strategy, with the foundational model team not being assigned commercial KPIs such as DAU, focusing instead on model technology and general artificial intelligence research. J.P. Morgan stated in a report that, based on the "Qwen as business" narrative, this represents an execution risk premium but does not immediately disrupt the investment thesis.
Additionally, YS Biopharma (02617) received net inflows of HK$7.71 million, while Junda Technology (02865), Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (06869), and SMIC (00981) saw net outflows of HK$49 million, HK$333 million, and HK$597 million, respectively.
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