Hong Kong stock market closed on March 13th. The Hang Seng Index slightly fell by 0.07%. Real estate stocks fell under pressure, while gold and power stocks rose collectively.

Zhitong App learned that the three major stock indexes in Hong Kong surged in the afternoon and then fell back, showing a one-way downward trend. As of the close, the Hang Seng Index fell by 0.07% or 11.39 points to 17,082.11 points, with a total daily turnover of HKD 120.449 billion; the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell by 0.29% to 5,932.46 points; and the Hang Seng Tech Index rose by 0.34% to 3,656.3 points.

CICC International pointed out that the recent rebound in the Hong Kong stock market is believed to be mainly due to the convergence of improved internal and external sentiments, driven by short covering under high bearish sentiment. The bank expects this round of rebound to last for several months, with uncertainties still present in the second half of the year. The bank believes that the Hang Seng Tech Index has a relatively high cost-performance ratio. In terms of sector allocation, it is recommended to continue focusing on the AI industry chain and commodities.

Performance of Blue-chip Stocks

Li Auto-W (02015) showed active performance. As of the close, it rose by 3.2% to HKD 151.7, with a turnover of HKD 20.01 billion, contributing 10.16 points to the Hang Seng Index. Li Auto announced a price reduction for some models and adjustments to the 2024 model lineup. Morgan Stanley believes this is a timely and much-needed strategic adjustment, but time will tell if it is effective.

In other blue-chip stocks, Zijin Mining (02899) rose by 3.46% to HKD 14.94, contributing 4.26 points to the Hang Seng Index; Xinyi Solar (00968) rose by 2.77% to HKD 6.68, contributing 1.37 points to the Hang Seng Index; China Medical System (01099) fell by 3.84% to HKD 21.3, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 1.77 points; China Gas Holdings (00881) fell by 3.76% to HKD 13.32, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 0.71 points.

Hot Sectors

On the market, large-cap tech stocks fluctuated, with Baidu up over 2% and Alibaba down over 1%; gold and power stocks were on the rise; news that Blizzard's national service is expected to officially return within a month boosted gaming stocks, with NetEase rising nearly 3% intraday; pharmaceutical stocks saw a significant rise towards the end of the session. On the other hand, real estate stocks, which surged yesterday on rumors, generally fell back; building materials, cement, home appliance, and heavy infrastructure stocks all declined.

1. Pressure on Real Estate Stocks. As of the close, Jinke Property (09993) fell by 9.23% to HKD 1.77; Sunac China (02777) fell by 4.67% to HKD 1.02; Sunac China (01918) fell by 4.62% to HKD 1.24; and Vanke (02202) fell by 3.49% to HKD 6.08.

Morgan Stanley pointed out that there are rumors that the central government will intervene to rescue Vanke. Real estate stocks rose by 8% yesterday, compared to a 3% rise in the Hang Seng Index. Although the central government may require financial institutions to support Vanke, the bank believes that this assistance is based on a "do its best" basis. In addition, the bank believes that the efforts made by the central government to avoid debt defaults by some leading developers are not sufficient to eliminate the bank's greatest concern about the weakness in domestic property sales. The improvement in property sales in March may be due to seasonal factors. The bank will maintain a cautious view on domestic property stocks until it sees a recovery in property sales and stable prices.

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

Due to the rebound risk of US inflation and the pressure from the possibility of the Fed delaying interest rate cuts, the international gold price fell by over 1% on Tuesday, ending a seven-day streak of closing at historical highs. At the close, COMEX April gold futures fell by 1.03% to USD 2166.1 per ounce. Aakash Doshi, Head of Commodities Research at Citigroup, stated that gold prices may consolidate in the short term and stabilize around USD 2100 per ounce. However, he expects gold prices to surpass USD 2200 per ounce by the end of the second quarter of this year.

3. Power stocks rise across the board. At the close, Huaneng International (01071) rose by 3.47% to HKD 4.17; China Huaneng (00902) rose by 3.04% to HKD 4.75; China Resources Power (00836) rose by 2.74% to HKD 18.74; China Power (02380) rose by 1.49% to HKD 3.41.

TF Securities previously stated that the profitability of most thermal power companies improved significantly in 2023, with Q4 being the lowest quarter of the year. The bank believes that the profitability of thermal power in 2024 will continue to improve. Specifically, due to factors such as coal prices, the improvement in performance in the first half of the year may be more significant than in the second half. With the improvement in the profitability of thermal power, dividend levels of various companies may increase, thereby enhancing the attractiveness of thermal power in terms of dividends.

4. Pharmaceutical stocks rallied at the close. At the close, Cellular Biomedicine Group-B (06990) rose by 14.87% to HKD 135.2; Rongchang Biotech (09995) rose by 14.79% to HKD 27.55; CanSino Biologics-B (02162) rose by 12.76% to HKD 40.2; GenScript Biotech (01548) rose by 10.06% to HKD 17.28.

In the "Vigorously Promoting the Construction of a Modern Industrial System and Accelerating the Development of New Productive Forces" section of the 2024 Government Work Report, the "innovative drugs" industry was directly mentioned for the first time. In addition, the 2024 Government Work Report also mentioned "AI + " for the first time. China Post Securities believes that accelerating the development of the innovative drug industry and implementing "AI + healthcare" are important development directions in the medical and health field for 2024, presenting significant development opportunities for related industries.

Hot Stock Movements

1. Jing Finance International (01468) Resumed Trading and Plunged, closing down by 71.58% at HKD 0.081.

Jing Finance announced that on March 3, it received a notice from Great Return Group Ltd, a shareholder holding 11.9% of the shares, alleging that former executive director Chen Jiajun's stock pledge information constitutes insider information under the Securities and Futures Ordinance and must be disclosed. After seeking legal advice, the group believes that it was unaware of Chen Jiajun's stock pledge information, and the board had also made efforts to obtain information from Chen Jiajun.

2. Li Ning (02331) Stock Price Declined, closing down by 3.39% at HKD 21.35.

Stimulated by privatization rumors, Li Ning surged significantly yesterday afternoon, rising by 20% at one point. In response, Li Ning stated that there were unusual price and trading volume movements of the company's shares on the HKEX, and the board confirmed that it was not aware of any reasons for such movements or any information that needed to be disclosed to prevent false market in the company's securities.

3. Luoyang Molybdenum (03993) Strengthened after Earnings, closing up by 7.98% at HKD 5.68.

Luoyang Molybdenum released its 2023 interim results, with total operating income of approximately RMB 186.269 billion, a YoY increase of 7.68%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was RMB 8.25 billion, a YoY increase of 35.98%. In addition, Luoyang Molybdenum's subsidiary KFM produced over 15,000 tons of copper in February, setting a new historical record since production.

4. Meitu Inc. (01357) Rose throughout the day, closing up by 7.37% at HKD 3.35.

Recently, Bitcoin trading has been heating up. On March 12, Bitcoin reached a high of $72,890, approximately RMB 523,000, with an intraday increase of over 5%, hitting a new high. CITIC Securities pointed out that historically, before and after Bitcoin "halving," there is still an upward trend.

5. Cathay Pacific Airways (00293) Hit a New High, closing up by 5.76% at HKD 9.18.

Cathay Pacific Airways announced its 2023 annual results at noon, with revenue of HKD 94.485 billion, an 85.1% YoY increase; the group's attributable profit to shareholders was HKD 9.789 billion, compared to a loss of HKD 6.623 billion in 2022. Each share dividend is HKD 0.43, with no dividend paid in the same period last year.