Xiaomi and AIA Lead Rebound in Hong Kong Stocks as Tech Sector Recovers

Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Thursday, snapping a two-day losing streak, with Xiaomi and AIA driving gains on the back of strong earnings, while JD.com led a tech sector recovery following a recent sell-off.

The Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4 percent to 17,460.54 by the midday trading break. The Tech Index climbed 0.8 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index remained largely unchanged.

Xiaomi surged 8.3 percent to HK$18.98, marking the biggest gain among the 82 blue-chip index members, following a 32 percent increase in its second-quarter revenue to 88.9 billion yuan (US$12.4 billion). The rise was fueled by strong smartphone sales and electric vehicle deliveries. Insurer AIA also saw significant gains, advancing 4.7 percent to HK$53.80 after its first-half profit soared 53 percent, driven by a policy-buying spree from mainland Chinese customers.

JD.com recovered 2 percent to HK$104.40, regaining some of the losses incurred on Wednesday due to Walmart’s stake sale plan. Other tech giants also performed well, with Alibaba rising 0.7 percent to HK$80.50, Tencent adding 0.3 percent to HK$372.60, and Baidu advancing 1.5 percent to HK$86.30.

Market sentiment improved following the latest US Federal Reserve meeting, which dispelled concerns about a potential rate cut next month. The minutes from the Fed’s July 30-31 meeting revealed that the “vast majority” of US central bank officials believe it would likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting, provided economic data continues to align with expectations.

However, gains were limited by a 7.9 percent drop in WuXi Biologics to HK$10.46 after the company reported a 24 percent decline in first-half profit to 1.8 billion yuan. Its sister company, WuXi Apptech, also fell 2.7 percent to HK$31.15.

Meanwhile, mainland developers continued to face challenges as sales showed no signs of recovery, with Beijing’s rescue package having little effect. Longfor declined 6.3 percent to HK$8.44, and China Resources Land fell 2.3 percent to HK$21.50. These drops followed Kaisa, a distressed peer, reporting deeper losses for the first half amid the ongoing property downturn.

“The momentum in the local market might be slightly subdued this week without major improvements in fundamentals, while volatility is expected to persist during the earnings season,” said Kenny Ng, a strategist at Everbright Securities International. He also noted that low trading volume could further dampen market momentum.

Elsewhere in Asia, other key markets were mostly higher on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index increased by 0.4 percent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.3 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi remained largely unchanged.

By fLEXI tEAM