Hong Kong stocks closed (05.06) | Hang Seng Index closed up 0.51%, gold, consumer stocks showed strong trends, and Shandong Molong (00568) surged nearly 190% in volume

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the three major indices of Hong Kong stocks had mixed trends. The Hang Seng Index and the National Index opened low this morning, and the gains expanded further in the afternoon. The trend of the Hengke Index weakened and turned green repeatedly in the afternoon. At the close, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.7% or 158.03 points to 22662.71 points, with a full-day turnover of HK$213.368 billion; the Hang Seng State-owned Enterprises Index rose 0.37% to 8261.61 points; and the Hang Seng Technology Index fell 0.09% to 5239.5 points.

Huatai Securities pointed out that looking ahead, it continues to be optimistic about the relative earnings performance of Hong Kong stocks and is moderately aggressive. The reasons are: 1) industrially, in the Hong Kong stock market structure, export chains with high performance and tariff sensitivity, and the market value share of midstream manufacturing companies is relatively low; 2) short-term marginal mitigation of tariffs between China and the US boosts market risk appetite; 3) the downward pressure on the US economy is strong, and overseas capital deposits and reallocation needs are needed. It is recommended to focus on domestic consumption, autonomy and control, and the advantage of quarterly reports.

Blue-chip stock performance

Nongfu Spring (09633) led the blue chip increase. At the close, it rose 7.07% to HK$38.6, with a turnover of HK$832 million, contributing 8.44 points to the Hang Seng Index. Dongwu Securities pointed out that from a medium- to long-term perspective, there is still room for improvement in the penetration rate of packaged water, and the beverage segmentation circuit boom continues. Product promotion and cultivation, channel network layout, and brand mentality occupation are still competitive winners and losers, and they are optimistic about the company's medium- to long-term value as a high-quality leader.

In terms of other blue-chip stocks, Chow Tai Fook (01929) rose 5.65% to HK$10.84, contributing 1.91 points to the Hang Seng Index; Sands China (01928) rose 5.35% to HK$14.96, contributing 3.01 points to the Hang Seng Index; Shiyao Group (01093) fell 5.96% to HK$5.84, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 4.96 points; and New Oriental-S (09901) fell 3.97% to HK$37.45, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 1.7 points.

Popular sector aspects

On the market, large technology stocks had mixed ups and downs. Meituan rose more than 4%, Tencent and Ali rose more than 1%, and Xiaomi fell nearly 3%. Export restrictions triggered a sharp jump in overseas rare earth prices. Rare earth concept stocks were strong, with Jinli Permanent Magnet surging by more than 11%; the May 1st consumer market was hot, with aviation stocks and beverage stocks showing impressive results; international gold prices regained their upward trend, and gold stocks all rebounded; visitors to Australia won expectations on May 1st, and gaming stocks rose the most; AH and listed stocks were active in the afternoon. Shandong Molong once surged more than 200%. On the other side, trends such as CRO concept stocks, Apple concept stocks, and domestic housing stocks are sluggish.

1. Gaming stocks had the highest gains. At the close, MGM China (02282) rose 7.38% to HK$11.06; Sands China (01928) rose 5.35% to HK$14.96; Macau International Development (00200) rose 4.64% to HK$3.38; and Wynn Macau (01128) rose 3.59% to HK$5.48.

According to reports, the Macau Public Security Police said that during the May 1st Golden Week, various ports recorded 3.754 million visits, an average of about 750,000 daily visits, an increase of 25.6% over the previous year; in terms of visitors, there were about 850,000 inbound visitors, an average of 170,000 visitors per day, an increase of 40.8% over the previous year. Furthermore, the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau announced that in April this year, Macau Lucky Gaming's gross revenue was 18.858 billion patacas, up 1.7% from the previous year. Macau's gross gaming revenue for the first four months of this year reached MOP 76.514 billion, up 0.8% year on year.

It is worth mentioning that MGM China recently announced that for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, the group's total revenue was HK$7.994 billion, a decrease of 3.2% year on year; the total adjusted EBITDA was HK$2,368 billion, a decrease of 5.46% year on year. MGM China's net revenue for the quarter was US$1 billion, down 3% from US$1.1 billion last quarter. According to J.P. Morgan Chase, MGM once again surpassed expectations, and EBITDA increased by about 10% on a quarterly basis, making it the only company in Macau to achieve profit growth in the first quarter (compared to a 6% decline on average).

2. Aviation stocks rose collectively. At the close, Eastern Airlines (00670) rose 7.3% to HK$2.5; China Southern Airlines (01055) rose 6.56% to HK$3.41; Air China (00753) rose 5.81% to HK$4.92; and Capital Airport (00694) rose 4.06% to HK$2.82.

According to a research report released by CITIC Securities, demand for civil aviation/railway travel increased by double digits in the first 3 days of May 1st in 2025, the movement of people across regions of society increased 4.9% year-on-year, and passenger traffic by railway, civil aviation, and highway increased 10.5%, 12.5%, and 4.9%, respectively. Among them, civil aviation sends an average of 2.19 million passengers per day, a record high. The phenomenon of “diving” in ticket prices has been effectively curbed. It is expected that the average total holiday ticket price will drop by less than 5% over the same period last year. At the same time, spurred by the visa-free policy, cross-border travel “heated up in both directions”, and the recovery rate for international flights rose to 91% during the same period (+2.1pcts compared to the Qingming holiday recovery rate). The summer performance of civil aviation is worth looking forward to. Combined with the expected decline in oil prices, it will provide strong support for the airline's performance.

Furthermore, crude oil opened with a sharp drop of 5% on Monday and closed down more than $1. WTI crude oil ended up falling 2.06% to $57.15 per barrel; Brent crude oil closed down 1.82% to $60.30 per barrel. According to Xinhua News Agency, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) issued a statement on the 3rd saying that eight OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers have decided to increase production by 411,000 barrels per day starting June this year. This is the second month in a row that the organization has accelerated the resumption of production after a sharp increase in production in May. Guojin Securities believes that oil prices may continue to remain low, which will benefit the aviation sector.

3. Gold stocks have all rebounded. At the close, Chifeng Gold (06693) rose 12.86% to HK$27.65; Lingbao Gold (03330) rose 8.34% to HK$9.09; Shandong Gold (01787) rose 6.37% to HK$24.2; and Zhaojin Mining (01818) rose 4.12% to HK$19.2.

After many days of adjustments, the price of gold soared again. On May 6, spot gold surpassed 3,370 US dollars/ounce, rising more than 1% during the day. Donghai Futures believes that as the trade situation eases, the US dollar stabilizes and the real yield on US bonds rebounds, putting pressure on precious metals. At the same time, against the backdrop of a resource agreement between the US and Ukraine, expectations of an armistice between Russia and Ukraine are heating up, and marginal easing of geopolitical risks is also weakening safe-haven demand. Gold has recently been weighed down by a rebound in the US dollar and interest rates. The market's focus has returned to economic data and Federal Reserve policy, and the impact of tariffs may become a secondary factor in the short term. Overall, however, against the backdrop of declining US dollar credit and rising global geography, the medium- to long-term allocation value of gold remains unchanged.

4. CRO concept stocks generally weakened. At the close, Yao Ming Kangde (02359) fell 3.18% to HK$62.35; Viva Biotech (01873) fell 2.61% to HK$1.49; and Kanglong Chemical (03759) fell 2.35% to HK$14.12.

US President Trump said he will announce tariff measures on pharmaceutical products within the next two weeks. Xiangcai Securities previously pointed out that many companies related to laboratory R&D outsourcing in the medical service sector are involved in the US market business, so the pharmaceutical outsourcing industry will be affected by mutual tariffs in the short term and sentiment may be disturbed. However, from the perspective of the industrial chain, domestic pharmaceutical outsourcing service companies have become an important part of the global pharmaceutical industry chain, providing support for major US pharmaceutical companies to improve R&D efficiency and focus more energy on back-end drug R&D and manufacturing to achieve production and value creation in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, the bank believes that the impact of tariffs on the fundamentals of the CXO industry is expected to be manageable, and suggests seizing the allocation opportunities brought about by the decline in the sector.

Popular exotic stocks

1. The volume of Shandong Molong (00568) soared. At the close, it was up 188.51% to HK$5.02.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued an announcement that due to the withdrawal of other risk warnings from Shandong Molong's A shares listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, according to relevant regulations, Shandong Molong will be transferred to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's securities list under the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, which will take effect from May 6, 2025. According to the announcement, other risk warnings were withdrawn from the company's A-share stock market opening on May 6, 2025; the stock abbreviation was changed from “ST Molong” to “Shandong Molong”.

2. Yaocai Securities Finance (01428) has risen again. At the close, it was up 17.94% to HK$8.35.

On April 25, Yaocai Securities issued an announcement stating that Ant Group initiated an offer of HK$2,814 billion from Yaocai Securities through its subsidiary to acquire 50.55% of the shares held by Yaocai Securities Chairman Ye Maolin. Also, according to a source quoted by Caixin, Ant Group plans to list its overseas division, Ant International, which is registered in Singapore, separately in Hong Kong. It is currently communicating with the regulatory authorities, and the current information shows that there are no policy barriers.

3. Jinli Permanent Magnet (06680) rose throughout the day. At the close, it was up 11.69% to HK$15.48.

According to the latest news, rare earth metal prices have reached record highs in a few weeks since China announced export controls on 7 categories of medium to heavy rare earth-related items. As of May 1, the price of prosium in Europe has tripled since the beginning of April, reaching 850 US dollars/kg; the price of terbium has risen from 965 US dollars/kg to 3,000 US dollars/kg, with a cumulative increase of more than 210%. The League of Nations Minsheng Securities pointed out that it is optimistic about investment opportunities in the rare earth magnetic materials industry chain.

4. China Software International (00354) performed well. At the close, it was up 7.4% to HK$5.37.

Fangzheng Securities previously stated that Microsoft's Windows license to Huawei will expire in March 2025, and subsequent Huawei PCs may not be able to use the Windows operating system. On March 27, Google announced that it would stop the Android open source project. Industry changes are expected to accelerate the promotion of the Hongmeng operating system and the adaptation of the application ecosystem. The bank pointed out that Chinasoft International has always been in a leading position in the open source Hongmeng ecosystem, and has steadily taken the lead in the number of code contributions to the OpenHarmony community.