Individual tech and internet stocks posted notable gains, with Meituan (03690) leading the market higher, rising 6.64% to HK$77.10. Alibaba (09988) gained 3.08% to HK$110.50, Baidu (09888) rose 0.49% to HK$82.05, and JD.com (09618) advanced 1.14% to HK$106.10. Tencent (00700) completed its offshore bond issuance raising a total of US$5.7 billion, with two U.S. dollar bond tranches priced above 6%, but its share price underperformed other tech peers, falling 0.42% to HK$423.40. Apple (US.AAPL) launched its HomeView smart home display and the new Apple TV 4K on Tuesday, while Xiaomi Group (01810), promoting its closed-loop 'smart home-vehicle-life' ecosystem, was also favored by investors, closing up 5.35% at HK$26.38.
Akeso (09926) initiated a placement, causing its share price to drop 9.62% to HK$94.90. Additionally, BioNTech's cancer mRNA therapy trial failed to meet clinical endpoints, leading to broad selloff in biotech stocks. Innovent Biologics (01801) plunged 4.19% to HK$88.10, Sino Biopharmaceutical (01177) fell 3.46% to HK$5.165, BeiGene (06160) declined 2.33% to HK$209.40, and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (01093) dropped 2.81% to HK$8.81.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell below 3,800, while the Shenzhen Component Index dropped nearly 2%. Chinese financial stocks were unstable, with Agricultural Bank of China (01288) down 2.23% at HK$6.57, China Construction Bank (00939) falling 1.05% to HK$9.855, Bank of China (03988) down 1.04% at HK$6.20, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (01398) slipping 0.85% to HK$7.57, China Life (02628) dropping 2.65% to HK$24.94, and Ping An Insurance (02318) sliding 1.46% to HK$50.60.
Hong Kong banking stocks also declined, with HSBC (00005) down 1.79% at HK$148.00, Standard Chartered (02888) falling 3.48% to HK$221.80, Bank of China (Hong Kong) (02388) down 2.58% at HK$50.90, and Bank of East Asia (00023) dropping 1.78% to HK$18.19.
In mainland China, the national consumer price index rose 0.9% year-on-year in September, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from August and the highest since June this year, though slightly below the market expectation of 1%. In the same month, mainland China's imports reached US$313.65 billion, up 31% year-on-year, significantly surpassing the expected growth of 24.5%. Consumer stocks rallied, with China Mengniu Dairy (02319) up 3.58% at HK$18.82, Anta Sports (02020) rising 2.9% to HK$74.55, Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding (00322) gaining 1.99% to HK$12.29, Haidilao (06862) up 1.88% at HK$9.475, Budweiser APAC (01876) climbing 1.46% to HK$5.92, and Li-Ning (02331) rising 1.36% to HK$12.70.
Longfor (00960) fell 4.15% to HK$4.85; CATL (03750) dropped 3.75% to HK$467.
The top three most actively traded stocks in the HSI, H-share Index, and Tech Index were Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi respectively. (ey)