[ET Net News Agency, 04 March 2026] US military operations in Iran have achieved
results, but Iran's existing regime remains intact, making the prospects for an end to the
conflict highly uncertain, with the risk of a drawn-out stalemate. Asian equity markets
continued their slump from yesterday and experienced a rout today: Korean equities at one
point plunged by 12%, the Nikkei dropped 4%, and Taiwanese shares lost 3.8%. Even the
A-shares, supported by stabilisation efforts around the "Two Sessions" in China, saw the
Shanghai Composite Index fall by over 1.4%. As for Hong Kong stocks, shares in Mainland
China insurers plummeted, oil and gold saw dramatic corrections, and both technology and
financials were heavily sold off. This dragged the Hang Seng Index down over 800 points at
one point to a fresh six-month low, hitting 24,963 and breaching both the psychological
25,000 level and the bull-bear threshold for the first time since April last year. By
mid-day, the HSI stood at 25,051, a loss of 717 points or 2.8%, with main board turnover
exceeding HK$207.6 billion. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index closed at 8,401, down
206 points or 2.4%. The Hang Seng Tech Index ended at 4,781, a fall of 95 points or 2%.

"Cheung Chi Wai: With the bull-bear line lost, HSI could see 23,800, war risks not fully
priced in"

The conflagration in Iran continues to batter global equities, and Asia-Pacific stock
markets have suffered heavy blows for several consecutive days, with Hong Kong stocks
facing the same peril. Cheung Chi Wai, a joint managing director at Prudential Brokerage
Ltd, told ET Net News Agency that the Hang Seng's decline accelerated rapidly after
breaking below the neckline of its head-and-shoulders pattern. Technically speaking, if
the HSI falls further below the 250-day moving average, the next significant support could
shift down to 23,800. However, he stressed that this is only a mathematical projection,
not a forecast that the index will inevitably reach that level.
Cheung forecasts that, as US President Trump suggested, the conflict is likely to
persist for at least three to four weeks, and its impact on global financial markets will
endure throughout. As such, he advises that investors interested in specific stocks should
only consider a staggered, phased approach to building their positions, and avoid
investing a lump sum all at once. He further suggested that, rather than speculating on
individual shares during such a turbulent period, it would be preferable to allocate funds
to ETFs, particularly the recently popular high-dividend ETFs, which tend to offer greater
stability. As for the opening of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
today, Cheung expects that immediate market benefits will be limited.

"Techtronic's strong results but valuation is rich, accumulation should be gradual"

Techtronic Ind (00669) announced a 6.8% increase in net profit last year to USD 1.198
billion, with sales up 4.4% to USD 15.3 billion. Its final dividend was lifted nearly 12%
to HKD 1.32, the largest payout since its listing. However, market volatility weighed on
Techtronic's share price, which opened 5% lower this morning before quickly paring losses
to trade about 3% down by mid-day. Cheung pointed out that Techtronic's share price had
already climbed more than 40% in the first two months of the year and began experiencing
some selling pressure even disregarding market-wide factors. While the results are solid
and the dividend payout is attractive, it is difficult to avoid some profit-taking amidst
broader market turmoil. Nevertheless, he believes Techtronic can be accumulated in
tranches: interested investors may consider taking a small initial position at current
levels, with a view to adding further if the price corrects towards HKD 100. As the
company pays a dividend, Cheung does not see much scope for significant declines going
forward.