Hong Kong's three major stock indexes all advanced in morning trading on August 10. By the midday close, the Hang Seng Index had climbed 0.72% to 25,853.69 points, the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.37%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.66%.
Internet technology stocks saw broad gains, with Alibaba rising over 2% and JD.com and Bilibili each up more than 1%. Biotech stocks were also broadly higher, led by WuXi AppTec which added nearly 3%. The securities and brokerage sector was active, with Guotai Junan International surging over 36%. In contrast, the semiconductor sector lagged, with Tianshu Zhixin falling more than 8%.
Biotech stocks rallied broadly, with WuXi AppTec gaining nearly 3%. The company announced that on August 7 (U.S. time), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on its motion for a preliminary injunction, granting the application against the U.S. Department of Defense's 1260H designation. The ruling means that during the judicial process challenging the 1260H designation, the Department of Defense cannot enforce, implement, or take actions based on that designation.
The securities and brokerage sector was active, with Guotai Junan International surging over 36%. The company and its controlling shareholder, Guotai Haitong, jointly announced that Guotai Haitong, as the offeror, proposes to privatize Guotai Junan International and delist its shares. The cancellation price is set at HK$3.00 per share, representing a premium of approximately 44.23% over the last traded price of HK$2.08 before the suspension. Assuming no exercise of share options and all exchangeable bonds, the total cash required for privatization would be approximately HK$9.86 billion. If all share options and exchangeable bonds are exercised, the maximum cash requirement would expand to about HK$12.6 billion. Guotai Haitong stated that the cancellation price will not be increased and reserves no right to do so.
The semiconductor sector declined the most, with Tianshu Zhixin dropping over 8%. In a recent strategy report, Huatai Securities noted that the AI supply chain (including semiconductor stocks like wafer foundries) is currently more of an "offensive play" rather than a core holding, suggesting small positions for oversold rebound opportunities. This indicates that institutional funds view it as a trading opportunity rather than a long-term heavy allocation. When external factors shift, such high-beta sectors often bear the brunt of the volatility.
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