The market is bracing for a tough November after three straight months of declines, with uncertainty looming over the Middle East, Russia-Ukraine, the U.S. midterm elections, European unrest, and Poland's political crisis.
These factors are pushing investors toward defensive positioning first, then selectively hunting for opportunities once conditions stabilize.
The most reliable defensive direction is high-dividend names, including oil and gas, shipping, nuclear power, and ports, which are less vulnerable to external shocks, while the domestic demand line centers on necessities such as instant noodles, personalized apparel, and well-adjusted CXO pharmaceutical plays.
On the opportunity side, the APEC summit is expected to mainly stimulate trade, with Shenzhen port and Greater Bay Area aviation names seen as the most direct beneficiaries, while Christmas-related expectations typically bring a dense wave of orders in November, with power tools a relative necessity in North America, and any policy stimulus akin to a disguised rate cut would favor environmental protection stocks.
On October 30, the Shanghai Stock Exchange announced that China Investment Information Company published a regular adjustment notice for the list of Hong Kong Stock Connect ETF targets under the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, with 10 ETFs added to the list effective November 9, and the newly included names are the most likely to attract incremental capital.
The specific picks are: oil through China National Offshore Oil Corporation (00883), shipping through Orient Overseas (International) Limited (00316), ports through China Merchants Port Holdings (00144), power through CGN Power (01816), environmental protection through Everbright Environment Group (00257), aviation through Cathay Pacific Airways (00293), tools through Techtronic Industries (00669), apparel through JNBY Design (03306), pharmaceuticals through Pharmaron (03759), and consumer goods through Uni-President China (00220).
The detailed list is as follows. For China National Offshore Oil Corporation (00883), the company achieved revenue of 112.9 billion yuan in the third quarter of 2026, up 7.6% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 33.3 billion yuan, up 2.7% year on year. In the first three quarters of 2026, revenue reached 355.6 billion yuan, up 13.8% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders reached 119.1 billion yuan, up 16.8% year on year. Against a backdrop of dramatic changes in the international environment, the company's oil and gas production continued to grow steadily. In the first three quarters, net oil and gas production reached 593.7 million barrels of oil equivalent, up 2.7% year on year, of which China net production was 408.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, up 1.9%, and overseas net production was 185.1 million barrels of oil equivalent, up 4.3%. In the third quarter of 2026, oil and gas production reached 194.9 million barrels of oil equivalent, up 0.6% year on year, of which oil liquids production was 154.0 million barrels of oil equivalent at a realized price of US$88.03 per barrel, and natural gas production was 237.9 billion cubic feet at a realized price of US$8.41 per thousand cubic feet. The company continued to implement its cost leadership strategy and maintained capital expenditure at a relatively high level. It continued its campaign to improve quality and efficiency and maintain cost competitiveness, with average operating cost per barrel in the first three quarters of 2026 at US$7.60 per barrel, up US$0.48 per barrel year on year, and main cost per barrel at US$30.57, sustaining its cost advantage. On capital expenditure, the company spent 89.9 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2026, up 4.5% year on year, of which development capex was 55.1 billion yuan, up 3.6%. In the third quarter of 2026, capital expenditure was 27.9 billion yuan, with exploration and development capex at 4.7 billion yuan and 16.0 billion yuan respectively. The company adhered to increasing reserves and production to safeguard national energy security, with capital expenditure remaining at a high level, and its 2026 operating production target is 780 to 800 million barrels of oil equivalent, with a capital expenditure budget of 112 to 122 billion yuan. In summary, institutions maintained a buy rating.
For Orient Overseas (International) Limited (00316), the company previously released the third quarter operating summary of Orient Overseas Container Line for the period ended September 30, 2026, with route revenue for the third quarter up 45.1% year on year to US$3.285 billion. Total loadings rose 9.0% and capacity increased 3.6%. Overall load factor rose 4.2% compared with the same period in 2025, and overall average route revenue per TEU increased 33.1% compared with the third quarter of last year. For the first nine months ended September 30, 2026, route revenue and total loadings increased 18.9% and 6.5% respectively year on year. Capacity rose 4.8% year on year, overall load factor rose 1.4% compared with the same period in 2025, and overall average route revenue per TEU increased 11.6% year on year. JPMorgan noted in a research report that the third quarter operating update was positive, with port congestion meeting healthy demand and peers raising guidance driving industry discussion. The bank pointed out that third quarter average revenue per TEU rose 33.1% year on year and 30% quarter on quarter to US$1,547, shipments rose 9% year on year to 2.12 million TEU and were roughly flat quarter on quarter, and total liner revenue reached US$3.285 billion, up 45.1% year on year and 29.5% quarter on quarter. Loadable capacity rose only 3.6% year on year and load factor improved 4.2 percentage points, reflecting tight effective capacity and prudent capacity deployment. Trans-Pacific route revenue surged 71.8% year on year and now accounts for about 44% of liner revenue. The bank believed persistent port congestion could offset the impact of new ships to be delivered and help maintain pricing power, and maintained a positive view on the shipping ecosystem.
For China Merchants Port Holdings (00144), the company previously announced first-half 2026 results, with revenue of HK$7.297 billion, up 13.0% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of HK$3.832 billion, corresponding to earnings per share of HK$0.913, up 6.9% year on year, with port main business profit better than expected mainly due to better-than-expected revenue per container. The company's cash flow was ample and growing healthily, with operating cash flow in the first half of 2026 growing 15% in line with operating profit, and on dividends, the interim dividend remained unchanged at HK$0.25 per share. In the first half of 2026, the port segment's revenue and profit grew 13.2% and 17.7% respectively year on year, mainly benefiting from simultaneous growth in container volume and revenue per container at the company's participating and controlling terminals. In the first half, container throughput at participating and controlling terminals rose 4.5% year on year, of which throughput at controlling terminals rose 3.5% year on year. By region, in the first half of 2026, container volume at participating and controlling terminals in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, Bohai Rim, and overseas terminals changed by 1.5%, 6.4%, 7.0%, and 2.5% respectively year on year. In addition, the port segment's revenue growth was higher than the container volume growth at controlling terminals, at 13.2% versus 3.5%, mainly due to higher terminal tariff rates and optimized container mix, with revenue per container rising year on year. Looking ahead, the company's cargo volume is expected to maintain good growth, and the company is favored to further improve profitability through lean operations. Benefiting from increased cargo volume of AI-related products, accelerated exports of Chinese high-end manufacturing, and economic growth in emerging markets, the company's terminal cargo volume is expected to keep growing, while on the price side, overseas terminal charges are expected to continue rising, and revenue per container is expected to maintain growth thanks to optimized container mix. In addition, the company is favored to continue reducing costs and expenses by optimizing port operation processes, raising automation levels, and managing expenses, thereby driving profitability improvement.
For CGN Power (01816), the company previously disclosed its third quarter report, with third quarter 2026 operating revenue of 19.615 billion yuan, up 16.99% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 3.498 billion yuan, up 36.08% year on year. In the first three quarters of 2026, the company's controlling operating units completed on-grid electricity of 176.749 billion kilowatt-hours, up 2.65% year on year, of which the single third quarter completed 67.152 billion kilowatt-hours, up sharply 14.17% year on year, reversing the decline in the first half, mainly thanks to the marginal boost from newly commissioned units and fewer overhaul days: generation at Daya Bay, Ling Ao, Yangjiang, Taishan, and Fangchenggang nuclear power bases all rose year on year, while Lingdong nuclear power fell 4.52% year on year due to a base effect from maintenance arrangements, but Huizhou nuclear power achieved on-grid electricity of 4.005 billion kilowatt-hours and Cangnan nuclear power achieved 2.440 billion kilowatt-hours, both net incremental contributions, mainly thanks to the commissioning of Huizhou units 1 and 2 and Cangnan unit 1 in April and August this year. In addition, apart from the strong performance of controlling nuclear power, the company's associate Hongyanhe nuclear power also achieved 4.68% electricity growth in the same period. In the third quarter, the company achieved operating revenue of 19.615 billion yuan, up 16.99% year on year, almost in line with the electricity growth, with the slight increase possibly mainly due to the implementation of mechanism electricity price reform in Liaoning and Guangxi, while newly commissioned nuclear units in the year temporarily did not participate in local market-based trading, thus having a positive impact on the overall electricity price. As of September 30, 2026, the company had 19 controlling units under construction and approved for construction, of which 2 were in commissioning, 2 in equipment installation, 8 in civil construction, and 7 in FCD preparation. Considering that nuclear power commissioned this year will still contribute electricity growth in 2027, the company's electricity growth rate in 2027 is expected to remain high, enough to support earnings growth expectations next year. In addition, with the promotion of mechanism electricity prices and the recovery of market-based trading prices, the company's nuclear power business profitability is expected to repair further, and the company is firmly favored for its long-term shareholder returns and investment value supported by both new capacity release and electricity price recovery.
For Everbright Environment Group (00257), in the first half of 2026, the company achieved operating revenue of HK$14.181 billion, down 1% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of HK$2.431 billion, up 10% year on year. In the first half of 2026, operating service revenue reached HK$10.755 billion, up 8% year on year, accounting for 76% of total revenue, construction service revenue reached HK$853 million, down 54% year on year, falling to 6%, and financial income accounted for 18%. As of June 30, 2026, the company's environmental energy and green environmental protection segments had implemented 196 waste-to-energy projects, with designed treatment of 163,100 tons of domestic waste per day including entrusted operation scale, designed treatment scale of about 8,693 tons per day for kitchen and food waste, and designed treatment and supply scale of about 7.6397 million cubic meters per day for water treatment and supply. In the first half of 2026, in the environmental energy segment, waste intake, on-grid electricity, and heat and steam supply rose about 2%, 2%, and 11% year on year respectively; in the environmental water segment, sewage treatment volume and reclaimed water treatment volume rose 6% and 3% year on year respectively; in the green environmental protection segment, waste intake, biomass raw material processing volume, and heat and steam supply rose 2%, 4%, and 19% year on year respectively. The company declared an interim dividend of 16.0 Hong Kong cents per share for 2026, up from 15.0 Hong Kong cents per share in the same period of 2025. The payout ratio in the first half of 2026, namely dividends as a proportion of profit attributable to shareholders, reached 40%, down 2 percentage points from 42% in the same period of 2025. In the first half of 2026, the company's gross margin was 43.06%, down 1.2 percentage points year on year, mainly affected by the sharp decline in construction service revenue, while net margin was 21.52%, up 2.08 percentage points year on year. In summary, the company's operating revenue share continued to rise, and as project operations improve quality and efficiency, cash flow is expected to improve further.
For Cathay Pacific Airways (00293), the company's passenger volume in September 2026 rose 12% compared with the same month in 2025, and available seat kilometers rose 9% year on year. In the first nine months of 2026, passenger volume rose 14% compared with the same period in 2025. September is the window before European and American Christmas stocking and student travel after the summer peak, and long-haul international routes are Cathay's core base, with students and business travel supporting passenger flow. The recent share price weakness was mainly due to the broader market and concerns over fuel costs. The company's biggest advantage over mainland airlines is its scarce cargo segment, as cargo is mostly a sideline for mainland carriers, while Cathay's cargo is an independent growth curve, with a model of all-cargo freighters plus passenger bellyhold plus integrated Hong Kong cargo terminal, owning 34 widebody freighters and focusing on high-value cargo such as chips, AI servers, precision equipment, fresh products, and pharmaceutical cold chain rather than ordinary low-price general cargo, combined with Greater Bay Area benefits such as the air-land fresh lane between Guangdong and Hong Kong and the Dongguan air-land intermodal transport, speeding cross-border clearance for fresh and temperature-controlled goods, a policy support unique to the Hong Kong hub, while cross-border e-commerce and semiconductor shipments are long-term demand foundations. In addition, the company implemented a dual-brand strategy of premium full service plus low-cost carrier, covering two types of passenger flow, with the main brand focusing on long-haul business and premium leisure on Europe, America, and Australia routes with stable business and student customer groups and strong front-cabin premium capability, while the short-haul low-cost carrier, such as Southeast Asia and mainland short-haul routes, had been loss-making, but its loss narrowed sharply in the first half of 2026, from HK$524 million to HK$73 million, and it is expected to turn profitable later, with management expecting full-service and low-cost passenger demand to remain healthy in the fourth quarter. The mainland route business continued to be strengthened, raising the value of the transit hub, such as continued new direct flights to Changsha and Urumqi in recent years and more frequencies to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Guangzhou, positioning itself as a channel for mainland travelers transiting through Hong Kong to Europe, America, and Australia, benefiting from normalized Hong Kong-Macau clearance, outbound travel, and continued recovery in business travel. Dividends are also attractive, with the 2026 interim dividend up 30% year on year, and stable profit is likely to attract capital.
For Techtronic Industries (00669), in the first half of 2026, the company achieved turnover of US$8.292 billion, up 5.9% year on year, profit before tax of US$822 million, up 15.9% year on year, and profit attributable to shareholders of US$738 million, up 17.5% year on year. Revenue achieved steady growth, with inventory improvement and high free cash flow supporting subsequent growth, and Milwaukee was the strongest growth engine. Driven by stronger momentum in Milwaukee and consumer business categories, the company achieved turnover of US$8.292 billion in the first half of 2026, up 5.9% year on year, of which favorable exchange rates contributed 1.9 percentage points of growth, with revenue remaining solid. By business, high growth in professional business drove overall revenue growth. The company's business classification changed in the first half of 2026 from the previous power tools, floor care, and cleaning businesses to professional business and consumer business. First, professional business: in the first half of 2026, professional business revenue was US$5.898 billion, up 9.6% year on year, of which, after adjusting for the expected timing impact from the Milwaukee Americas ERP system conversion in 2025, Milwaukee sales grew 10.5% on an actual basis in the first half of 2026, driving professional business growth. Second, consumer business: in the first half of 2026, consumer business sales were US$2.401 billion, down 2.5% year on year, mainly due to the company's exit from the HART business and streamlining of other consumer brands, while RYOBI sales grew 1.7% in the first half of 2026, but outdoor product sales were under pressure due to severe weather in some parts of Europe and America. In the first half of 2026, the company continued to increase investment in new product research and development and marketing, while adding frontline resources and commercialization activities, driving up selling and general administrative expense ratios, and costs related to exiting the HART business and adjusting non-core businesses also had some impact on expense ratios. At the profit level, the company achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of US$740 million in the first half of 2026, up 17.5% year on year, with net margin attributable to shareholders of 8.9%, up 0.9 percentage points year on year. Profit growth outpaced revenue growth, mainly benefiting from gross margin improvement, expense efficiency gains, and lower net financing costs. For the 2026 outlook, the company expects Milwaukee and RYOBI core brands to maintain mid-to-high single-digit growth and profitability to continue improving, and expects to continue outperforming the market in 2026.
For JNBY Design (03306), in fiscal 2026 the company's revenue was 6.046 billion yuan, up 9.0%, operating profit and net profit attributable to shareholders were 1.334 billion yuan, up 11.4%, and 997 million yuan, up 11.7% respectively; net operating cash flow in fiscal 2026 was 1.433 billion yuan, up 26.5%, and the company declared a final dividend of HK$1.06 per share and a special dividend of HK$0.75 per share, which together with an interim dividend of HK$0.52 gave a full-year dividend of HK$2.33 per share, corresponding to a payout ratio of about 110%. In the second half of fiscal 2026, revenue growth accelerated, with online channels plus offline same-store sales driving revenue growth, JNBY growing steadily, and LESS accelerating. Fiscal 2026 revenue was 6.046 billion yuan, up 9.0%, achieving steady growth despite pressure in the apparel industry, corresponding to first-half and second-half fiscal 2026 revenue of 3.376 billion yuan, up 7%, and 2.67 billion yuan, up 11.6%. At the profit level, fiscal 2026 net profit grew double-digit, thanks to channel structure changes and continuous profitability improvement under discount management. Fiscal 2026 operating profit and net profit attributable to shareholders were 1.334 billion yuan, up 11.4%, and 997 million yuan, up 11.7% respectively, of which: first, gross margin: fiscal 2026 gross margin was 66.6%, up 1.0 percentage point, with gross margins of JNBY, Croquis, jnbybyJNBY, LESS, and emerging brands at 69.9%, 67.6%, 60.8%, 70.2%, and 48.8% respectively, changing by 1.3, 1.4, 2.9, 1.2, and minus 2.7 percentage points year on year respectively; gross margins of direct-operated, franchise, and online channels were 73.2%, 60.3%, and 66.4% respectively, changing by minus 0.7, 1.5, and 2.4 percentage points respectively, with gross margin improvement mainly due to design-driven product competitiveness and the company's healthy merchandise management system and retail discount management strategy. Second, expense ratios: fiscal 2026 selling and administrative expense ratios were 36.0% and 10.7% respectively, up 0.4 and 1.1 percentage points year on year respectively, with the selling expense ratio increase mainly affected by channel revenue structure changes and the administrative expense ratio increase mainly due to higher spending in product design and research and development departments. Third, profit margins: fiscal 2026 operating margin and net margin attributable to shareholders were 22.1%, up 0.5 percentage points, and 16.5%, up 0.4 percentage points. As of June 30, 2026, the company had more than 610,000 annual active member accounts, up 9%, of which more than 360,000 members spent over 5,000 yuan annually, compared with 330,000 in the prior fiscal year, with consumer retail sales reaching 5.20 billion yuan, up 7.0%, contributing more than 60% of offline channel retail sales and becoming the core support for offline retail, while member-contributed retail sales accounted for more than 80% of total retail sales. The company continued to strengthen brand-consumer connections through data-driven and refined operations, deepening user stickiness. The company's fiscal 2026 net inventory was 910 million yuan, down 2.9%, and inventory turnover days were 166.3 days, up 5.4 days from 160.9 days in the same period last year, within a healthy range.
For Pharmaron (03759), the company previously released its third quarter 2026 report, with first three quarters revenue of 12.003 billion yuan, up 19.01%, net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.247 billion yuan, up 9.31%, and non-GAAP net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.181 billion yuan, up 14.20%; in the single third quarter, revenue was 4.408 billion yuan, up 20.94%, net profit attributable to shareholders was 497 million yuan, up 13.06%, and non-GAAP net profit attributable to shareholders was 488 million yuan, up 22.74%. In the first three quarters, adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.496 billion yuan, up 21.97%, with revenue and core profit maintaining relatively fast growth. In the first three quarters, laboratory services revenue was 7.222 billion yuan, up 15.05%, and in the single third quarter revenue was 2.589 billion yuan, up 17.5%, with year-on-year growth higher than the overall first three quarters level. The segment gross margin in the first three quarters was 40.23%, down 2.39 percentage points year on year, mainly affected by appreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar. On orders, new orders signed in the first three quarters grew more than 25% year on year, with customer demand continuing to be released, providing support for subsequent project execution. As new orders gradually convert, laboratory services are expected to continue steady growth, further consolidating the business foundation of integrated services. In the first three quarters, CDMO services revenue was 3.102 billion yuan, up 31.72%, with gross margin of 27.83%, up 2.15 percentage points year on year; in the single third quarter, revenue was 1.218 billion yuan, up 30.1%, up 20.4% quarter on quarter, with gross margin rising to 31.1%, up 1.6 percentage points year on year and 3.9 percentage points quarter on quarter, with business scale expansion and profitability improvement being realized simultaneously. In the first three quarters, new orders signed in the segment grew more than 40% year on year, the small molecule CDMO pipeline continued to advance, and demand for late-stage clinical and commercial production remained positive. In the third quarter, the Ningbo API production workshop again passed an FDA on-site inspection, further consolidating global commercial supply capability. Order growth and project conversion are expected to continue supporting CDMO volume growth and improve the company's overall profitability. In the first three quarters, clinical research services revenue was 1.659 billion yuan, up 15.22%, with gross margin of 10.96%, down 0.83 percentage points year on year; in the single third quarter, revenue was 590 million yuan, up 18.0%, with revenue growth further accelerating. As revenue scale expanded, single third quarter gross margin rose to 13.1%, up 2.3 percentage points year on year and 1.0 percentage point quarter on quarter, with the profitability improvement trend gradually emerging. In the first three quarters, new orders signed in the segment grew more than 25% year on year, providing support for subsequent revenue growth. New order conversion and scale effect release are expected to drive continued improvement in clinical research services revenue and profitability. In summary, considering the company's integrated service capability, CDMO order accumulation, and commercial project volume growth, which are expected to improve visibility of medium-term profit growth, the company is favored for its CDMO business order conversion and commercial project volume growth, and institutions maintained a strong buy rating.
For Uni-President China (00220), in the first half of 2026, the company achieved total operating revenue of 17.32 billion yuan, up 1.4% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.40 billion yuan, up 9.0% year on year. On the revenue side, in the first half of 2026, food, beverage, and other business revenue changed by 4.7%, minus 0.3%, and 2.2% year on year respectively. By business breakdown, in food, instant noodles continued to innovate to meet diversified consumer demand, and the Tangdaren pork bone flavor major single product achieved steady growth; beverage revenue declined slightly, attributable to short-term weather disruption, with tea drinks, juice, and milk tea changing by minus 3.5%, minus 5.5%, and 7.3% year on year respectively, as Uni-President green tea and Uni-President iced black tea continued to consolidate brand positioning and focus marketing on younger consumers, the Chunfu brand began independent operation, and among milk tea, jasmine milk green tea became a second growth curve; other products deepened channel customer cooperation, customizing products for membership stores and snack volume purchasing, continuously enhancing terminal competitiveness. Structural upgrading lifted gross margin and profitability continued to improve. On profitability, in the first half of 2026, the company achieved gross margin of 35.0%, up 0.7 percentage points year on year, mainly due to product structure upgrading. On expenses, goods discounts and promotions, asset depreciation, and transportation costs increased compared with the same period last year, and the selling expense ratio is expected to rise year on year, while the administrative expense ratio continued to optimize. In summary, food, beverage, and other business margins changed by 1.0 percentage point, 0.1 percentage points, and minus 1.8 percentage points year on year respectively, and overall net margin attributable to shareholders rose 0.6 percentage points year on year to 8.1%, with the profit center improving. Overall, Uni-President China maintained steady operations in the first half of 2026, improved quality and efficiency in operations, and grew profit faster than revenue. Looking to the second half, on the product side, instant noodles may continue to build products around value for money to cover more consumer demand, and the major single product Tangdaren pork bone ramen is expected to continue growing; the beverage business may continue to deepen channels and maintain single-product momentum, while jasmine milk green tea, as a second growth curve, may further deepen brand operations. On the profit side, the company is expected to further optimize operating efficiency on the basis of steady operations and raise the net margin level.
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