The Zhitong Finance App learned that the three major indices of Hong Kong stocks surged higher and fell in the afternoon, and immediately showed a unilateral downward trend. At the close, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.07% or 11.39 points to 17082.11 points, with a full-day turnover of HK$120,449 billion; the Hang Seng State-owned Enterprises Index fell 0.29% to 5932.46 points; and the Hang Seng Technology Index rose 0.34% to 365.63 points.

BOC International pointed out that the recent rebound in Hong Kong stocks is believed to be mainly due to improved and converging internal and external sentiment, driven by bears' correction under high short-selling sentiment. The bank expects this round of rebound to continue for several months, and there may still be uncertainty in the second half of the year. The bank believes that the Hang Seng Technology Index is relatively cost-effective. In terms of sector allocation, it is recommended to continue to pay attention to the AI industry chain and commodities.

Blue chip stock performance

Ideal Automobile-W (02015) performed well. At the close, it rose 3.2% to HK$151.7, with a turnover of HK$2,001 billion, contributing 10.16 points to the Hang Seng Index. Ideal announced price cuts for some models and adjustments to the 2024 model series. Damo believes this is a timely and much-needed strategic adjustment, but it will take time to prove whether it works.

In terms of other blue-chip stocks, Zijin Mining (02899) rose 3.46% to HK$14.94, contributing 4.26 points to the Hang Seng Index; Xinyi Solar (00968) rose 2.77% to HK$6.68, contributing 1.37 points to the Hang Seng Index; Sinopharm Holdings (01099) fell 3.84% to HK$21.3, dragging down 1.77 points; and Zhongsheng Holdings (00881) fell 3.76% to HK$13.32, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 0.71 points.

In terms of popular sectors

On the market, large technology stocks had mixed ups and downs, with Baidu rising more than 2% and Alibaba falling more than 1%; gold stocks and power stocks are improving; according to news, Blizzard China Service is expected to officially announce their return within a month. Gaming stocks are showing active performance, with NetEase rising nearly 3% in the intraday; pharmaceutical stocks rallied significantly at the end of the session. On the other side, domestic housing stocks, which surged yesterday due to rumours, generally fell; building materials and cement stocks, home appliance stocks, and heavy infrastructure stocks fell one after another.

1. Domestic housing stocks declined under pressure. At the close, Jinhui Holdings (09993) fell 9.23% to HK$1.77; R&F Real Estate (02777) fell 4.67% to HK$1.02; Sunac China (01918) fell 4.62% to HK$1.24; and Vanke Enterprise (02202) fell 3.49% to HK$6.08.

Motong Daikon pointed out that domestic housing stocks rose 8% yesterday, compared to the Hang Seng Index, as the market rumored that the central government rescued Vanke. Although the central government may require financial institutions to support Vanke, the bank believes that the help is based on a “best effort” basis. Furthermore, the bank believes that the central government's efforts to avoid default debts with some leading developers are insufficient to dispel the bank's biggest concern about weak domestic housing sales. The month-on-month improvement in domestic housing sales in March may be due to seasonal factors. Until the bank sees a recovery in domestic housing sales and stabilization of housing prices, it will maintain a cautious view on domestic housing stocks.

2. Gold stocks had the highest gains. At the close, Zijin Mining (02899) rose 3.46% to HK$14.94; China Gold International (02099) rose 3.02% to HK$42.7; Shandong Gold (01787) rose 1.76% to HK$15.04; and Zhaojin Mining (01818) rose 1.2% to HK$9.29.

Due to the risk of a rebound in US inflation, international gold prices fell by more than 1% on Tuesday, falling to the record closing level set for seven consecutive days, due to the risk of a rebound in the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. By the close, COMEX gold futures for April closed down 1.03% to $2,166.1 per ounce. Aakash Doshi, head of commodities at Citi Research in North America, said that in the short term, there may be some consolidation in gold prices and may stabilize around 2,100 US dollars per ounce. But he expects that by the end of the second quarter of this year, the price of gold will exceed 2,200 US dollars per ounce.

3. Electricity stocks rose across the board. At the close, Huadian International (01071) rose 3.47% to HK$4.17; Huaneng International (00902) rose 3.04% to HK$4.75; China Resources Power (00836) rose 2.74% to HK$18.74; and China Electric Power (02380) rose 1.49% to HK$3.41.

Tianfeng Securities said earlier that most thermal power companies' profits improved dramatically in '23, and Q4 alone was mostly the quarter with the lowest annual performance. The bank believes that the profitability of thermal power will continue to improve further in 2024. Specifically, due to the impact of the coal price base, etc., the degree of improvement in performance in the first half of the year may be more significant than in the second half of the year. Along with the improvement in the profitability of thermal power, the dividend level of each company may increase, thereby increasing the attractiveness of thermal power in terms of dividends.

4. Pharmaceutical stocks rallied at the end of the session. At the close, Columbite Biotech (06990) rose 14.87% to HK$135.2; Rongchang Biotech (09995) rose 14.79% to HK$27.55; Conoa-B (02162) rose 12.76% to HK$40.2; and Kingsley Biotech (01548) rose 10.06% to HK$17.28.

In the “Vigorously Promoting the Construction of a Modern Industrial System and Accelerating the Development of New Quality Productivity” section of the 2024 “Report on the Work of the Government”, the “innovative drug” industry was directly mentioned for the first time. Furthermore, the 2024 “Report on the Work of the Government” also mentioned “artificial intelligence +” for the first time. China Post Securities believes that accelerating the development of the innovative pharmaceutical industry and developing “AI+ healthcare” is an important development direction for the medical and health care sector in 2024, and related industries will usher in important development opportunities.

Popular volatile stocks

1. Beijing Capital Finance International (01468) resumed trading and plummeted. At the close, it fell 71.58% to HK$0.081.

Beijing Capital Finance announced that it received a reminder letter from the shareholder Great Return Group Ltd, which holds 11.9% of the shares on March 3, indicating that the information that the former executive director Chen Jiajun took the shares was inside information within the Securities and Futures Regulations and must be disclosed. After seeking legal advice, the Group believes that the Group was unaware of the news that Chen Jiajun had taken stock and that the board of directors had also tried its best to obtain information from Chen Jiajun.

2. Li Ning (02331)'s stock price fell. At the close, it fell 3.39% to HK$21.35.

Stimulated by privatization rumors, Li Ning rose sharply yesterday afternoon, and at one point surged 20%. In response, Li Ning said that there were unusual changes in the price and trading volume of the company's shares on the Stock Exchange, and the board of directors confirmed that it was unaware of any reason for such changes or any information that must be disclosed to avoid a false market in the company's securities.

3. Luoyang Molybdenum Industry (03993) strengthened after the closing. At the close, it rose 7.98% to HK$5.68.

Luoyang Molybdenum Industry released its 2023 annual performance report. Total operating revenue was about 186.269 billion yuan (RMB, same below), up 7.68% year on year; net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 8.25 billion yuan, up 35.98% year on year. Furthermore, KFM, a subsidiary of Luoyang Molybdenum, produced more than 15,000 tons of copper in February, setting a record high in history since it was put into operation.

4. Meitu (01357) was higher throughout the day. At the close, it was up 7.37% to HK$3.35.

Recently, Bitcoin transactions have continued to heat up. On March 12, Bitcoin reached a maximum of 72,890 US dollars, about 523,000 yuan. It rose more than 5% during the day and reached a new high. CITIC Securities pointed out that based on history, Bitcoin still had an upward trend before and after “halving.”

5. Cathay Pacific (00293) hit a new high. At the close, it rose 5.76% to HK$9.18.

Cathay Pacific announced its 2023 results at noon, with revenue of HK$94.485 billion, up 85.1% year on year; Cathay Pacific Group shareholders should account for profit of HK$9.789 billion and loss of HK$6.623 billion in 2022; dividend of HK$0.43 per share, with no dividends for the same period last year.