The Hong Kong market saw gains at midday, with the Hang Seng Index advancing 1.46%, adding 354 points to reach 24,695. The Hang Seng Tech Index also climbed, rising 1.39%. Trading volume for the morning session reached HKD 174.8 billion.
Pharma and Biotech Lead Gains
The biotech and pharmaceutical sectors were standout performers. The Hang Seng Innovation Pharma Index surged 6.97%, while the Hang Seng Biotech Index jumped 6.13%. This strength follows news that innovative drugs have been included in the national essential medicines list for the first time, a move expected to significantly accelerate their adoption at the grassroots healthcare level.
Among individual stocks, Kelun-Biotech (06990) rose 10.9%, Innovent Biologics (01801) gained 9.72%, and Akeso (09926) increased by 9.9%. Joinn Laboratories (06127) soared over 21% after pre-announcing that its first-half net profit could surge by up to 1,377% year-on-year, amid reports of soaring prices for experimental monkeys, now valued at up to CNY 200,000 each.
CARSGEN-B (02171) gained over 4% as the company announced that research results for its product Kailimei® are scheduled for poster presentation at the 2026 ESMO Annual Meeting. Alphamab Oncology (09966) climbed more than 9% after its drug KN026 received another Breakthrough Therapy Designation, this time for first-line treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (09637) advanced over 7%. The stock saw share purchases by two major institutions, GIC and LAV, on the same day, and its drug candidate AP301 has entered the final NDA submission stage.
Insilico Medicine (03696) continued its rally, rising another 11%. The company announced a strategic alliance with Bora Pharmaceuticals, with a potential total value exceeding USD 2.5 billion.
AI and Tech Stocks Advance
Major AI players also moved higher. MINIMAX-W (00100) surged over 13% and Zhipu AI (02513) gained more than 7%. This strength comes amid reports that DeepSeek is engaging with new investors for a potential funding round.
Following a 27% overnight surge in the U.S.-listed ADRs of SK Hynix, the CSOP 2X Long SK Hynix Daily (-1x) ETF (07709) in Hong Kong jumped over 24%.
Tencent (00700) rose more than 3%. The tech giant recently launched its Hy3 large language model, positioning it to potentially join the top tier of AI model developers. DEEP TECH (01384) surged over 13% after signing an investment promotion agreement with the Yueyang Lingang High-tech Zone Management Committee to build a regional industrial AI service platform.
PATEO (02889) gained over 9% as the company continues to expand its footprint in the optical communication industry chain, aiming to open a new growth avenue beyond its core smart cockpit business.
China Tourism Group Duty Free (01880) rose more than 5% after reporting a 19.49% year-on-year increase in first-half attributable net profit and stating it is progressing with operations at key airport duty-free shops.
On the downside, China National Building Material (03323) fell over 10% after warning of a swing to an estimated first-half net loss of approximately CNY 890 million, partly due to increased impairment provisions for goodwill.
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