Hong Kong Stock Market Year-End Review 2025: Hang Seng Index Rises Nearly 28% Leading the World, Hua Hong Soars 240%, Alibaba Leads Internet Counterattack, Southbound Funds Buy 1.4 Trillion

The Hong Kong stock market concluded 2025 with its best annual performance in five years, with core indices leading the gains among major global capital markets, driven by a "valuation recovery" trend throughout the year.

Over the past year, the Hong Kong stock market exhibited a "rise followed by a decline" trend, with liquidity-driven recovery in the first quarter and dual support from policies and liquidity in the second half. In September, the Federal Reserve's unexpected interest rate cut propelled the Hang Seng Index to its highest point of the year, while the end of the year saw the Hong Kong stock market enter a phase of weak fluctuations and adjustments.

Net inflows from southbound funds exceeded CNY 1.41 trillion for the year, setting a new annual record since the launch of the mutual market access mechanism, becoming the "ballast" for market liquidity. The valuation recovery trend persisted throughout the year, with 13 stocks rising over tenfold, particularly in the hard technology, biomedicine, and precious metals sectors.

The IPO market also performed strongly, with large IPOs such as CATL driving the total IPO scale in 2025 to HKD 286.3 billion, reclaiming the top spot globally. Nineteen A-share companies successively listed in Hong Kong, raising approximately HKD 140 billion, accounting for about half of the total IPO fundraising, marking the year with the highest number of A-share companies listing in Hong Kong in history.

Looking ahead to 2026, several institutions have made optimistic forecasts for the Hong Kong stock market. CITIC Securities believes that the Hong Kong stock market will benefit from the "14th Five-Year Plan" catalyst and the dual easing policies of major external economies. As the fundamentals rebound from the bottom, the Hong Kong stock market is expected to welcome a second round of valuation recovery and further performance resurgence.

Core Indices Surge Across the Board, Southbound Funds Reach Historic Highs

As of the market close on December 31, the Hang Seng Index rose from approximately 19,600 points at the beginning of the year to 25,630 points, with an annual increase of 27.77%, marking the best annual performance in five years. The Hang Seng Tech Index also rose, with an increase of nearly 23.45%; the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index saw an annual increase of 22.27%. This performance ranks among the top in major global indices, outperforming the Nasdaq and S&P 500.

Southbound funds have become a key driving force behind the strength of the Hong Kong stock market. Data shows that in 2025, net purchases of Hong Kong stocks by southbound funds reached HKD 1.41 trillion, setting a historical record high, significantly up from approximately HKD 807.9 billion in 2024.

The IPO market also demonstrated strong vitality, with the total IPO scale in Hong Kong for 2025 reaching HKD 286.3 billion, reclaiming the top position globally. Twelve companies raised over HKD 5 billion during the year, with CATL's listing in Hong Kong setting the record for the largest IPO in nearly three years. Nineteen A-share companies successively listed in Hong Kong, raising approximately HKD 140 billion, accounting for about half of the total IPO fundraising in Hong Kong, setting a record for the highest number of A-share companies listing in Hong Kong.

Metals and Mining Sectors Outperform, Precious Metals Lead the Market

In terms of sectors in the Hong Kong stock market, there were clear structural characteristics, with the materials sector significantly outperforming, and precious metals leading the market, while the semiconductor and healthcare sectors also performed relatively well

Benefiting from the global commodity cycle recovery, the raw materials sector has surged, with an increase of nearly 200% this year, becoming the biggest highlight of the market. Hong Kong stocks in the gold sector have followed the rise in gold prices, with Zhumeng Gold soaring 1286.36% this year. Other non-ferrous metals such as silver, platinum, copper, cobalt, and lithium have also seen strong market performance, with Luoyang Molybdenum rising over 281.05%.

In other sectors, under the accelerated development of AI and semiconductor localization, the semiconductor sector has risen by 139%; the healthcare sector has also performed well, with an increase of over 89% this year. Several innovative research results from domestic innovative pharmaceutical companies have been realized, and the overseas expansion of innovative drug business development is steadily advancing.

Tenfold Stocks Emerge, Alibaba Leads the Internet Sector

The comprehensive release of the profit-making effect in the Hong Kong stock market has made "tenfold stocks clustering" the most distinctive feature of the Hong Kong stock market in 2025. According to Wind data, as of December 31, 379 Hong Kong stocks have doubled in price since 2025, with 13 stocks rising over tenfold. Base Jinbiao Group has surged over 41 times this year, becoming the "king of stocks."

From the distribution of bull stocks, the clustering effect in specific sectors is clearly visible. In the hard technology and AI transformation sector, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Holdings has achieved a cumulative increase of 33.05 times this year due to its AI computing power infrastructure layout and strategic cooperation with Huagong Technology. In the biopharmaceutical sector, "the first stock for rare diseases," Beihai Kangcheng, has risen over 18 times, while Clover Biotech and others have also seen increases of over 8 times. The precious metals sector has benefited from the global gold price reaching new highs, with Zhumeng Gold increasing by 12 times this year.

Among the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Technology Index, semiconductors have performed the best, with Hua Hong Semiconductor rising over 240% this year, leading the tech index, while SMIC has increased over 120%. The humanoid robot industry has also attracted attention, with Horizon Robotics concept stocks rising 140% this year. Among internet giants, Alibaba has risen over 76% this year, XPeng has increased over 70%, and Baidu has risen by 59.01%.

Looking ahead to 2026, both buy-side and sell-side institutions have optimistic expectations for the Hong Kong stock market. Many institutions believe that driven by multiple factors such as improved liquidity and corporate profit recovery, the Hong Kong stock market is expected to continue its upward trend, with the driving logic of the market shifting from valuation repair to profit growth. CITIC Securities believes that the Hong Kong stock market will benefit from the internal "14th Five-Year Plan" catalyst, as well as the "fiscal + monetary" dual easing policies of major external economies, especially the United States and Japan. The Hong Kong stock market not only has a complete domestic high-quality AI industry chain but is also expected to benefit from the outflow of liquidity from domestic and foreign markets and the continuous catalysis of AI narratives as more high-quality leading A-share companies list in Hong Kong