On Aug 7, Hong Kong stocks rose in choppy trading, with all three major indices closing higher. The Hang Seng Index closed at 25,668.03 points, up 137.75 points, or 0.54%; the Hang Seng Tech Index closed at 4,858.29 points, up 37.51 points, or 0.78%; and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index closed at 8,531 points, up about 0.4%. Market turnover was about HK$259.7 billion, slightly higher than the previous trading day, but it failed to stand above the HK$300 billion threshold for the fifth consecutive trading day, indicating that sentiment remained cautious ahead of the peak interim reporting season. The day's market showed clear themes: earnings-driven pharmaceutical sector outperformed, AI application and large-model names strengthened sharply, while heavyweight blue chips and property stocks were weak.
Biopharmaceuticals surge collectively: "Pharma king" hits record high
The absolute protagonist of the day was undoubtedly the biopharmaceutical sector. WuXi AppTec strengthened for consecutive sessions after releasing its interim results, with the intraday high reaching HK$193, a record high, and total market value about HK$570 billion. The interim report showed that the company achieved consolidated revenue of RMB 28.9 billion in the first half, up 38.9% year-on-year; adjusted net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 11.57 billion, up 83.2%; gross margin improved to 53.2%, up about 9.4 percentage points from the same period last year. More exciting for the market, the company raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance from RMB 51.3-53 billion to RMB 58.5-60.5 billion, and sharply raised its continuing operations revenue growth expectation from 18%-22% to 35%-39%, demonstrating strong order visibility and operational resilience.
The demonstration effect of WuXi quickly spread across the sector. WuXi Biologics rose 10.8%, WuXi XDC rose 11.8%, Zai Lab surged 18.4% as quarterly revenue far exceeded market expectations, GenScript Biotech rose 16.2%, Insilico Medicine rose 10.9%, Kelun-Biotech rose 6.2%, while CStone Pharmaceuticals and Joinn Laboratories also moved higher. According to data from the Economic Information Center HV2 quote system, the healthcare sector recorded net active buying of over HK$5.3 billion for the full day, with an average change rate of about 2.5%, leading all sectors. The Hang Seng Biotech Index surged 820 points, or 5.7%, closing at 15,155 points.
AI large-model "double heroes" soar: MiniMax included in Stock Connect, attracting heavy northbound inflows
The AI application side was also exciting. Zhipu rose over 14%, and MiniMax-W rose nearly 10%. Since MiniMax was officially included in the Southbound Stock Connect on Aug 6, its share price has accumulated a gain of nearly 30% in just two trading days. On the first day of inclusion, it received nearly HK$2.7 billion in net northbound buying, becoming the day's top net buyer, with trading volume expanding continuously and hitting a new record high, fully demonstrating mainland capital's enthusiasm for such scarce targets.
On the news front, MiniMax announced on Aug 3 that its H3 model was officially open-sourced, with multiple domestic chip manufacturers including Moore Threads and Hygon Information completing adaptation simultaneously. Zhipu launched its flagship model GLM-5.2 in June this year, achieving SOTA results among open-source models on the Artificial Analysis comprehensive leaderboard. Meanwhile, DeepSeek announced a price increase, and Alibaba plans to charge commercial users for its next-generation AI large model, further strengthening market expectations that AI large models are moving away from the low-price model and accelerating commercialization, igniting fund enthusiasm.
PCB and optical communications rebound across the board, hardware sentiment recovers
On the hardware front, Goldman Sachs sharply raised its PCB market size forecast, driving a collective recovery in the PCB, optical communications, and chip sectors. Kingboard Laminates rose 9.9%, Sheng Hong Technology rose 10.9%, Xinqi Microelectronics rose 8%, YOFC rose 5.8%, Montage Technology rose 3.1%, and GigaDevice rose 6.8%. The semiconductor sector recorded net active buying of over HK$1.6 billion for the full day, with risk appetite clearly recovering. In addition, eight major domestic polysilicon companies proposed not to sell photovoltaic products below cost, and solar stocks such as GCL Tech and Xinte Energy strengthened in tandem. Pacific Basin Shipping surged over 15% as interim profit more than tripled and dividends surged, boosting the shipping sector.
In contrast, tech heavyweights and property stocks underperformed. Tencent, Alibaba, Xiaomi, and JD.com each fell less than 1%. Affected by rumors that mainland authorities may tax overseas investment income, local property stocks came under pressure, with Henderson Land down over 2.5% and Sun Hung Kai Properties down nearly 2%. The Hong Kong Insurance Authority later clarified that the relevant requirement has always existed and that the market should not over-interpret it. Financial and insurance stocks stabilized slightly, with AIA up 1.4% and HSBC up 0.7%.
Interim season "earnings repair, structural divergence": over half of companies report positive forecasts
The other main line of this round of rally is interim results. According to Wind data, as of Aug 5, 332 Hong Kong-listed companies had disclosed first-half earnings forecasts, of which 178 expected net profit to rise year-on-year or turn from loss to profit, accounting for over half. 74 companies expected net profit growth of more than 100% year-on-year at the upper limit, and 10 companies forecast net profit growth of more than 10 times. Overall, the market shows the characteristics of "earnings repair and structural divergence." Nonferrous metals, securities and futures, and technology sectors led earnings growth, mainly due to rising commodity prices and capacity release, recovering equity markets, and the upward cycle in AI computing power and storage. Meanwhile, some traditional consumer sectors still face demand pressure.
Northbound capital sells for three straight days, funds await key interim results
On the capital front, southbound funds recorded net selling of over HK$700 million in Hong Kong stocks that day, marking the third consecutive trading day of net selling. In the previous few trading days, northbound capital heavily accumulated positions in targets such as MiniMax and Kingboard Laminates while reducing holdings in heavyweight stocks like Tencent, showing clear structural rebalancing. KGI Securities noted that after Hong Kong stocks' impressive rebound in July, the market encountered resistance at the 26,000-point level at the start of August, coupled with profit-taking triggered by the tax rumor. For the full week, the Hang Seng Index fell 216 points, with average daily turnover of about HK$260 billion, down from about HK$280 billion the previous week, reflecting increased caution ahead of the earnings season. Although the HSI daily chart showed a hammer pattern, it failed to recover the 250-day moving average, and rebound momentum remains weak.
Institutional views: defensive base, growth hunting
Looking ahead, institutions have divergent views but also consensus. BOCOM International believes that after the June pullback and July bottoming rebound, the Hang Seng Index and Hang Seng Tech Index benefit from improved liquidity, valuation repair, and earnings improvement, and have a foundation for further upside. It recommends maintaining a barbell allocation with catalysts on both ends. GF Securities reminded that Hong Kong stocks lack pure-play AI hardware names, and combined with competition within the internet industry and capital expenditure pressure, earnings repair lacks endogenous flexibility. Liquidity remains the absolute core dominating the current market, and the sustainability and upside of this rebound are relatively limited. Everbright Securities judged that the market does not yet have the basis for a broad bull market, but has entered a phase of structural opportunity characterized by "defensive base, growth hunting." KGI expects that before heavyweights such as Tencent, JD.com, and China Mobile report results, the market will maintain low-turnover wait-and-see, with the HSI fluctuating in the range of 25,200 to 25,800 points.
Overall, the market on Aug 7 was the result of "interim results catalysts plus capital game-playing": pharma leaders with earnings beats broke out first, the AI narrative rekindled growth-stock enthusiasm, while the sluggishness of heavyweight blue chips suggests market divergence persists. Before the wave of key interim reports fully lands, Hong Kong stocks may continue to consolidate, with structural opportunities centered on earnings certainty and industry catalysts remaining the main theme. (This article is compiled based on public market information and does not constitute any investment advice.)
