Hong Kong's three major stock indices closed in negative territory on May 12th. At the close, the Hang Seng Index was down 0.22%, the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.7%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index declined 0.02%.
Sector performance was mixed. Technology and internet stocks were mostly weaker. Lenovo Group saw its shares drop over 3%. Tencent Holdings and Bilibili both fell more than 1%. In contrast, Kuaishou Technology and NetEase posted gains exceeding 1%.
Energy stocks were active, with PetroChina rising over 3%. The move in oil shares followed geopolitical developments. On May 12th, an Iranian parliamentary committee spokesperson stated on social media that if Iran were attacked again, its response could involve raising uranium enrichment levels to 90%. This statement followed reports from U.S. government sources on May 11th indicating that, due to a lack of progress in negotiations, Washington was considering a return to military action against Iran "more seriously" than in recent weeks. In response, Brent crude and WTI crude oil prices moved higher, trading around $106 per barrel and $100.5 per barrel, respectively. Spot gold and silver prices fell briefly, with gold dropping below $4700 per ounce and silver below $84 per ounce.
Chip stocks experienced a pullback, with Chip One Stop falling more than 4%. The sector's movement followed the release of updated South Korean customs import-export data, which showed a significant surge in prices for DRAM and NAND flash memory. The data indicated that demand for these memory components has spiked, affecting all major technology sectors, with prices soaring by as much as 63% within a month, which is expected to impact the global memory and SSD markets.
Pork-related stocks weakened, with Muyuan Foods Co., Ltd. declining over 2%. The company released operational data showing that the average selling price for its commercial hogs in April was 9.45 yuan per kilogram, a sharp year-on-year decrease of 35.54%. This marks the third consecutive month of sequential price decline. Sales revenue for the month was 8.503 billion yuan, down 32.49% year-on-year. Muyuan reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of 1.215 billion yuan for the first quarter of 2026, swinging to a loss compared to the same period last year. The company attributed the loss primarily to a significant decline in live hog prices. Notably, Muyuan stated its complete farming cost had been reduced to 11.6 yuan per kilogram as of March.
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