[ET Net News Agency, 02 July 2026] As overseas AI and semiconductor sectors stumbled, it was the turn of traditional Hong Kong technology and biotechnology concept stocks to flex their muscles. Entering the first trading day of the third quarter, the Hong Kong stock market surged by up to 453 points this morning to 23,335 points, but immediately pulled back upon meeting resistance at the 10-day moving average (around 23,356). The HSI closed the half-day session at 23,154, up 273 points or 1.2%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index stood at 7,648, up 90 points or 1.2%. The Hang Seng Tech Index was at 4,499, up 27 points or 0.6%. Trading volume heated up significantly, with mainboard turnover approaching HKD 213.4 billion, and southbound capital recording a half-day net inflow of HKD 4.1 billion.
"Nip Chun Pong: HSI must reclaim 20-day moving average to confirm upward trend"
Overnight European and US stock markets generally softened, and major Asia-Pacific stock markets also opened lower this morning. However, as the HSI entered the third quarter, it showed strong performance on the first day, regaining the 25,000-point level right at the opening and even surging over 400 points during intraday trading. Nip Chun Pong, the Chief Strategist at Solo Securities, told ET Net News Agency that unlike Monday (29 Jun), which was mainly driven by the settlement of index futures where the upward momentum lasted for only one day before returning to square one on Tuesday, the start of the second half of the year for Hong Kong stocks saw funds redeploying their positions. Following a continuous decline previously, the price-to-earnings ratios of heavy-weighted technology stocks in the HSI are currently on the low side, attracting capital to chase these laggards. Although the performance of Mainland China banking stocks this morning was disappointing, with the "Big Four" banks falling together against the market trend, Nip Chun Pong pointed out that because the weightings of the Big Four banks in the HSI are not as significant as those of technology stocks, their softening share prices are not expected to pose too much of an impact on the broader market. In addition, AIA (01299) and HSBC (00005) are worth noting. Due to the previous tightening of capital outflows by Mainland China, combined with the potential for substantial changes in the global financial environment and rising expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes in the second half of the year, pressure may be exerted on their share prices, dragging down the HSI.
Nip Chun Pong stated that global stock markets in the second half of the year might speculate on the restructuring of technology stock valuations, which would favour a rebound in low-priced, heavily weighted technology stocks within the HSI and drive the index back up. However, whether the HSI's upward wave can be sustained warrants observation for another two days, depending on whether the HSI can firmly hold the 23,200-point level over the next two days to confirm that the 23,000 major threshold is secure. Nip Chun Pong pointed out that external factors will continue to affect Hong Kong stocks. Just as the HSI had a decent start in January, its trajectory completely reversed from late February due to the political situation between the US and Iran, alongside the global financial market amplifying speculation on AI hardware. This was especially evident in June when it plunged by 2,300 points, accounting for the majority of the HSI's 2,600-point decline in the first half of the year. Nip Chun Pong emphasised that today's rebound of the HSI does not mean smooth sailing ahead, and external influences still cannot be ignored. He believes that a 1,000-point rebound for the HSI from its recent lows is not surprising, but it must reclaim its 20-day moving average (around 24,000 points) to establish a pattern where the HSI stops falling and returns to an upward trend.
"AI hardware stocks saw large gains in first half, valuations may adjust downwards in second half"
It is reported that Meta plans to establish a cloud business to sell its surplus AI computing power, competing with Amazon's AWS and Microsoft's Azure, sending its share price surging nearly 9% at the close. Overnight on Wall Street, chip stocks plummeted, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropping 6.27% to close at 13,353 points. Micron plummeted 10.6%, Intel fell 9%, and SanDisk dropped 10.6%. Chip leader Nvidia slid 1.3%. The Korean KOSPI index, which has recently been driven upwards by chip stocks, also fell 6% this morning.
AI chip and other hardware-related stocks, which have been heavily speculated on in Hong Kong stocks recently, plunged. SMIC (00981) fell by 10% during intraday trading, Hua Hong (01347) dropped up to 15% at most, and Iluvatar CoreX (09903) plummeted up to 21% at most; Biren Technology (06082) fell 18% at one point; YOFC (06869) plummeted up to 19% at most; KB Laminates (01888) dropped by 20% during intraday trading at one point.
Nip Chun Pong stated that AI chip and other hardware-related stocks have been speculated on for a long time, with their share prices accumulating massive gains. With Meta selling surplus AI computing power this time, the market may worry that the demand for AI hardware has been overestimated. Apart from Meta, it cannot be ruled out that other tech giants might face similar surplus issues. Earlier during the chip shortage, clients frequently signed contracts several years in advance, and deposits were recorded under revenue and profits, meaning that current financial results have reflected future prosperity ahead of time, coupled with aggressive corporate expansion. The market may worry about overcapacity issues, and clients will likely be cautious when placing future orders, unlike before when they pre-booked several years of goods. The sector is expected to continue correcting.
Nip Chun Pong believes that KB Laminates has accumulated astonishing gains this year, presenting a strong incentive for investors to lock in profits and exit. With today's sharp drop in the share price, it cannot be ruled out that some investors are buying on the dip. However, the current environment is different; the share price has risen substantially compared to March when the major shareholder first reduced their stake. Furthermore, as global AI hardware stocks may face downward valuation pressure, the risk of buying on the dip at this moment remains high. Should the stock fail to hold HKD 80 at the close, it is expected to continue softening in the short term.
In addition to AI hardware stocks, large model developer Zhipu (02513) slumped 16% during intraday trading at one point, while MiniMax (00100) also fell 12% at one point. Nip Chun Pong pointed out that both belong to the application layer, similar to Meta. Their share prices have been driven up recently alongside AI hardware, accumulating large gains. Coupled with the expiry of the lock-up period for cornerstone investors this month, their share prices have also come under pressure. However, he noted that Zhipu's share price has risen continuously since its listing without experiencing significant pullbacks like other shares, hence Zhipu is expected to face greater downward pressure. On the whole, Nip Chun Pong believes that AI hardware stocks will still face pressure in the short term. Even if new AI development concepts might still emerge in the market in the future, given the large gains in the first half of the year, valuations are expected to face downside risks in the second half. Among these, close attention should be paid to the movement of the Nasdaq; if the index breaks below its June low (around 25,000), there is a higher probability that the subsequent market trend will continue downwards.
"Nip Chun Pong: HSI must reclaim 20-day moving average to confirm upward trend"
Overnight European and US stock markets generally softened, and major Asia-Pacific stock markets also opened lower this morning. However, as the HSI entered the third quarter, it showed strong performance on the first day, regaining the 25,000-point level right at the opening and even surging over 400 points during intraday trading. Nip Chun Pong, the Chief Strategist at Solo Securities, told ET Net News Agency that unlike Monday (29 Jun), which was mainly driven by the settlement of index futures where the upward momentum lasted for only one day before returning to square one on Tuesday, the start of the second half of the year for Hong Kong stocks saw funds redeploying their positions. Following a continuous decline previously, the price-to-earnings ratios of heavy-weighted technology stocks in the HSI are currently on the low side, attracting capital to chase these laggards. Although the performance of Mainland China banking stocks this morning was disappointing, with the "Big Four" banks falling together against the market trend, Nip Chun Pong pointed out that because the weightings of the Big Four banks in the HSI are not as significant as those of technology stocks, their softening share prices are not expected to pose too much of an impact on the broader market. In addition, AIA (01299) and HSBC (00005) are worth noting. Due to the previous tightening of capital outflows by Mainland China, combined with the potential for substantial changes in the global financial environment and rising expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes in the second half of the year, pressure may be exerted on their share prices, dragging down the HSI.
Nip Chun Pong stated that global stock markets in the second half of the year might speculate on the restructuring of technology stock valuations, which would favour a rebound in low-priced, heavily weighted technology stocks within the HSI and drive the index back up. However, whether the HSI's upward wave can be sustained warrants observation for another two days, depending on whether the HSI can firmly hold the 23,200-point level over the next two days to confirm that the 23,000 major threshold is secure. Nip Chun Pong pointed out that external factors will continue to affect Hong Kong stocks. Just as the HSI had a decent start in January, its trajectory completely reversed from late February due to the political situation between the US and Iran, alongside the global financial market amplifying speculation on AI hardware. This was especially evident in June when it plunged by 2,300 points, accounting for the majority of the HSI's 2,600-point decline in the first half of the year. Nip Chun Pong emphasised that today's rebound of the HSI does not mean smooth sailing ahead, and external influences still cannot be ignored. He believes that a 1,000-point rebound for the HSI from its recent lows is not surprising, but it must reclaim its 20-day moving average (around 24,000 points) to establish a pattern where the HSI stops falling and returns to an upward trend.
"AI hardware stocks saw large gains in first half, valuations may adjust downwards in second half"
It is reported that Meta plans to establish a cloud business to sell its surplus AI computing power, competing with Amazon's AWS and Microsoft's Azure, sending its share price surging nearly 9% at the close. Overnight on Wall Street, chip stocks plummeted, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropping 6.27% to close at 13,353 points. Micron plummeted 10.6%, Intel fell 9%, and SanDisk dropped 10.6%. Chip leader Nvidia slid 1.3%. The Korean KOSPI index, which has recently been driven upwards by chip stocks, also fell 6% this morning.
AI chip and other hardware-related stocks, which have been heavily speculated on in Hong Kong stocks recently, plunged. SMIC (00981) fell by 10% during intraday trading, Hua Hong (01347) dropped up to 15% at most, and Iluvatar CoreX (09903) plummeted up to 21% at most; Biren Technology (06082) fell 18% at one point; YOFC (06869) plummeted up to 19% at most; KB Laminates (01888) dropped by 20% during intraday trading at one point.
Nip Chun Pong stated that AI chip and other hardware-related stocks have been speculated on for a long time, with their share prices accumulating massive gains. With Meta selling surplus AI computing power this time, the market may worry that the demand for AI hardware has been overestimated. Apart from Meta, it cannot be ruled out that other tech giants might face similar surplus issues. Earlier during the chip shortage, clients frequently signed contracts several years in advance, and deposits were recorded under revenue and profits, meaning that current financial results have reflected future prosperity ahead of time, coupled with aggressive corporate expansion. The market may worry about overcapacity issues, and clients will likely be cautious when placing future orders, unlike before when they pre-booked several years of goods. The sector is expected to continue correcting.
Nip Chun Pong believes that KB Laminates has accumulated astonishing gains this year, presenting a strong incentive for investors to lock in profits and exit. With today's sharp drop in the share price, it cannot be ruled out that some investors are buying on the dip. However, the current environment is different; the share price has risen substantially compared to March when the major shareholder first reduced their stake. Furthermore, as global AI hardware stocks may face downward valuation pressure, the risk of buying on the dip at this moment remains high. Should the stock fail to hold HKD 80 at the close, it is expected to continue softening in the short term.
In addition to AI hardware stocks, large model developer Zhipu (02513) slumped 16% during intraday trading at one point, while MiniMax (00100) also fell 12% at one point. Nip Chun Pong pointed out that both belong to the application layer, similar to Meta. Their share prices have been driven up recently alongside AI hardware, accumulating large gains. Coupled with the expiry of the lock-up period for cornerstone investors this month, their share prices have also come under pressure. However, he noted that Zhipu's share price has risen continuously since its listing without experiencing significant pullbacks like other shares, hence Zhipu is expected to face greater downward pressure. On the whole, Nip Chun Pong believes that AI hardware stocks will still face pressure in the short term. Even if new AI development concepts might still emerge in the market in the future, given the large gains in the first half of the year, valuations are expected to face downside risks in the second half. Among these, close attention should be paid to the movement of the Nasdaq; if the index breaks below its June low (around 25,000), there is a higher probability that the subsequent market trend will continue downwards.
