Hong Kong stocks showed a mixed but firm trend on Monday, with all three major indexes closing in positive territory. Sentiment was supported by signs of progress in US-Iran nuclear talks. At the close, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.24%, or 62.9 points, to 25,915.82, with total turnover reaching HKD 278.043 billion. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.34% to 8,603.73, while the Hang Seng Tech Index increased 0.97% to 4,933.07.
Dongwu Securities noted that the AI hardware rally, led by US stocks, has shown initial signs of recovery. In the short term, capital may not flow heavily back into tech hardware, but some attention could shift from Hong Kong stocks. If US AI mid-to-downstream companies report strong earnings, triggering a broader rally, it could benefit the Hang Seng Tech Index—Hong Kong's AI applications, internet platforms, and domestic computing power chains, with their valuation advantages and policy support, may attract some capital inflows.
Where to start
Among blue-chip stocks, Techtronic Ind (00669) surged after earnings. The stock closed 8.12% higher at HKD 143.8, contributing 24.14 points to the Hang Seng Index. The company reported first-half 2026 revenue of USD 8.3 billion, up 5.9% year-on-year, with net profit rising 17.5% to USD 738 million. On an adjusted basis, global MILWAUKEE business grew 10.5% in local currency. Meanwhile, RYOBI brand sales increased 1.7% in local currency to USD 1.9 billion.
Other blue chips saw mixed performance. CMOC Group (03993) rose 8.65% to HKD 18.47, contributing 8.49 points. Laopu Gold (06181) gained 6.71% to HKD 340.2, adding 2.08 points. On the downside, HSBC Holdings (00005) fell 2.64% to HKD 162.1, dragging the index by 62.29 points, while CNOOC (00883) dropped 2.63% to HKD 22.96, subtracting 14.75 points.
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In terms of sectors, large-cap tech stocks mostly rose, with Alibaba up nearly 2% and Tencent up nearly 1%. Computing power concept stocks rallied on strong domestic and international demand. Gold stocks surged as US-Iran talks progressed, with Zhaojin Mining rising over 7%. Copper stocks followed commodities higher, with CMOC Group up nearly 10%. The official release of a national safety standard for autonomous driving systems boosted smart driving concept stocks. On the flip side, rumors of a US ban on optical modules weighed on the sector, with Zhongji Innolight opening sharply lower before paring losses, closing down 5.18%.
Gold and copper stocks led gains. China Gold International (02099) jumped 13.11% to HKD 205.4, Lingbao Gold (03330) rose 10.56% to HKD 21.56, Zijin Gold International (02259) gained 10.16% to HKD 129, and CMOC Group (03993) added 8.65% to HKD 18.47. On August 5, international gold prices rebounded, with spot gold briefly breaking above USD 4,170 per ounce, while New York futures hit the USD 4,200 mark. US President Donald Trump said on Fox News that the Strait of Hormuz would "soon" reopen, or Iran would face "severe strikes." Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal on the strait could be reached by August 4 or 5. Additionally, the Bank of Korea announced on August 3 it would resume gold purchases for the first time since February 2013, planning to buy from domestic producers and US gold ETFs, boosting global gold allocation demand.
Meanwhile, tightening US import flows pressured global supply, with LME three-month copper breaking above USD 14,000 per ton for the first time since June 3. Reports indicate refined copper is flowing into the US at the fastest pace in 12 years, with July arrivals exceeding 200,000 tons, a record high. Analysts attribute the US copper hoarding to tariff policy expectations and cross-market arbitrage, distorting trade flows and raising copper's strategic value.
Smart driving concepts performed strongly. Zhejiang Shibao (01057) surged 15.22% to HKD 4.505, Youjia Innovation (02431) rose 6.52% to HKD 4.575, and Hesai Group (02525) gained 3.16% to HKD 17.97. The national mandatory standard "Safety Requirements for Intelligent Connected Vehicle Autonomous Driving Systems" was officially released, set to take effect on July 1, 2027. It applies to M and N class vehicles equipped with L3 and L4 autonomous driving systems, excluding automatic parking systems, establishing a unified safety baseline for autonomous driving products across enterprise lifecycle, dynamic driving task execution, human-machine interaction, and multi-dimensional testing.
Computing power concept stocks were strong. Biren Technology (06082) closed 12.93% higher at HKD 37.9, GigaDevice (03986) rose 5.7% to HKD 486, Hua Hong Semiconductor (01347) gained 4.74% to HKD 141.5, and Yuegangwan Smart Computing (01396) added 4.66% to HKD 11. Recent demand for computing power both domestically and internationally has driven the sector's upward momentum. Last week, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta reported strong cloud business growth, raising or maintaining high capital expenditure, with combined spending for the four tech giants expected to reach around USD 750 billion in 2026. Domestically, China's Academy of Information and Communications Technology data shows that AI computing power demand in the first quarter of 2026 surged 417% year-on-year, while effective supply grew only 128%, widening the supply-demand gap. Policy support is also intensifying, with expectations of CNY 4 trillion in direct investment for the "15th Five-Year Plan" computing power network, boosting industry sentiment.
Rumors of a US ban weighed on optical module concepts. Zhongji Innolight (03308) fell 5.18% to HKD 1,116, and Cambridge Technology (06166) dropped 4.7% to HKD 82.15. Market chatter suggested the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is drafting a ban on imports of Chinese data center components, including optical modules. However, Zhongji Innolight's investor relations team told media that the FCC has not yet issued any restrictive documents in the relevant area, and the company declined to comment on the rumors.
Key movers
Ren Resources (01712) surged 41.06% to HKD 7.025 after issuing a profit alert. The company expects first-half net profit of around AUD 60-65 million, up 3.7 to 4.1 times from AUD 12.69 million a year ago, driven by higher gold prices, improved grades and recovery rates at the Vammala plant, positive contributions from processing Botnia gold ore in Sweden, and gains from selling Aurion shares.
Haizhi Technology Group (02706) soared 42.89% to HKD 54.5. Palantir reported Q2 revenue surging 94% year-on-year and sharply raised its full-year sales forecast to USD 8.16 billion. Analysts noted Palantir's "ontology + FDE" model has proven successful, validating the "industrial AI" and "sovereign AI" direction. As the "Chinese Palantir," Haizhi Technology also focuses on "graph-model fusion" and industrial agents, with Palantir's strong performance providing a strong overseas benchmark for its technology and business model.
MiniMax (00100) was strong throughout the day, closing 10.25% higher at HKD 253.8. As of August 4, over 100 domestic and international partners completed Day 0 adaptation and integration for MiniMax's latest open-source model H3 within 24 hours of its release, covering chips, developer communities, cloud inference platforms, and AI application companies, marking progress in open-source ecosystem development.
Sanhuan Group (06951) rose 6.94% to HKD 111. Japanese and Korean manufacturers including Murata, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Taiyo Yuden have raised prices for high-end MLCCs for AI servers and automotive applications by 15-30%, with many citing extended delivery cycles and insufficient capacity to meet incremental customer demand.
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