Northbound Capital Records Net Purchases of HK$3.46 Billion; CNOOC Attracts Over HK$700 Million Ahead of Quarterly Results

On April 28, net purchases by northbound capital in the Hong Kong stock market totaled HK$3.46 billion. Specifically, the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect recorded net purchases of HK$4.169 billion, while the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect recorded net sales of HK$709 million.

The stocks with the highest net purchases by northbound capital were CNOOC (00883), CHINA MOBILE (00941), and YOFC (06869). The stocks with the highest net sales were the Tracker Fund (02800), SMIC (00981), and Alibaba-W (09988).

CNOOC (00883) received net purchases of HK$711 million. After market close, the company released its first-quarter results, reporting revenue of RMB 116.08 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.6%, and net profit of RMB 39.14 billion, up 7.1% year-on-year. Oil and gas sales revenue reached approximately RMB 97.0 billion, rising 9.9% compared to the same period last year, primarily driven by higher realized oil prices and increased oil and gas sales volume. The company's all-in cost per barrel stood at $28.41, maintaining its competitive cost advantage.

CHINA MOBILE (00941) attracted net purchases of HK$546 million. An HSBC research report noted that while value-added tax adjustments have generally led to declines in service revenue and net profit for telecom stocks, CHINA MOBILE has demonstrated greater resilience than its peers. The company's first-quarter service revenue fell 1.1% year-on-year, with EBITDA and net profit declining 4.9% and 4.2% respectively, figures which were in line with expectations. However, net cash flow from operating activities surged 128% year-on-year, which the report suggests could provide more room for an increased dividend payout ratio.

YOFC (06869) saw net purchases of HK$263 million. According to CRU bimonthly data cited by UBS, the spot price for Chinese G652.D bare fiber reached RMB 83.40 per core kilometer in March 2026—a staggering 418% increase year-on-year and a 165% increase month-on-month. Since May 2025, cumulative price increases have exceeded 400%, surpassing the previous cycle's peak for the first time. The wave of fiber price hikes has also spread to European and American markets.

Northbound capital continued to divest from technology stocks. Tencent (00700) and Alibaba-W (09988) experienced net sales of HK$132 million and HK$175 million respectively. Goldman Sachs analysis indicates that DeepSeek V4, through architectural innovations like mixed attention, significantly reduces long-context reasoning costs. The core implication is the ability to support complex AI agent applications at lower costs. The V4 model explicitly bets on Huawei's Ascend 950, with API pricing expected to drop significantly after mass production begins in the second half of 2026. Competition among domestic AI models is intensifying, with programming capability and multimodality becoming key differentiators.

Hua Hong Semiconductor (00981) and SMIC (00981) faced net sales of HK$137 million and HK$471 million respectively. Recent U.S. proposals for the MATCH Act draft aim to further tighten export controls on semiconductor hardware equipment to China through mandatory multilateral coordination. Additionally, some analysts believe that DeepSeek-V4's domestic adaptation signals that China's "model-chip-cloud" closed loop is gradually becoming operational, which will drive development in AI chips, equipment, and cloud infrastructure sectors. Core domestic computing power players are expected to benefit directly.

The Tracker Fund (02800) recorded net sales of HK$1.432 billion. Dongwu Securities pointed out that current U.S. stock valuations hardly reflect the impact of geopolitical conflicts on fundamentals. If U.S.-Iran tensions exceed expectations in the short term, it could disrupt market rhythm, affect global capital risk appetite, and influence the pace of overseas capital allocation to Hong Kong stocks.

Furthermore, SHANDONG MOLONG (00568) received net purchases of HK$36.28 million.