HONG KONG, Jan 5, 2026, 02:22 ET — Regular session
- Kuaishou led blue-chip gainers, up about 11%, while CNOOC and PetroChina fell more than 3%.
- Index ETFs and China tech megacaps dominated turnover, with the Tracker Fund and Alibaba among the busiest names.
- Traders now look to the MiniMax IPO timeline as the next near-term catalyst.
Kuaishou Technology jumped 11.4% in afternoon trade, leading gains among Hang Seng blue chips as the benchmark index eased 0.06% to 26,321.87. Investors also pushed Innovent Biologics up 6.7% and Hansoh Pharma up 5.7%, while they sold oil producers CNOOC and PetroChina, down 3.5% and 3.2%, respectively. Turnover — the cash value of shares traded — clustered in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with the Tracker Fund and the HSCEI ETF in the top five, alongside Alibaba, Tencent and SMIC. 1
That split tape matters now because traders keep treating Hong Kong as a fast-moving barometer for global “liquidity” — capital flowing into and out of risk assets — and for how quickly Chinese earnings recover. China Galaxy Securities said Hong Kong equities react sharply to shifts in global liquidity, domestic policy follow-through and corporate results, and it framed timing as the key variable for 2026 positioning.
A revived IPO pipeline also keeps the market’s focus on big, liquid tech and index proxies rather than thinly traded names. Reuters Breakingviews said Hong Kong’s 2025 IPO haul reached $37 billion, with average first-day gains around 37%, and flagged AI-driven listings as the center of gravity for the current wave. 2
Kuaishou’s rally tracked a burst of AI-linked momentum in the short-video and content space. AASTOCKS said investors chased Kuaishou after marketing firm BlueFocus — a partner tied to Kuaishou’s Kling AI product push — resubmitted its Hong Kong listing application, lifting sentiment toward the broader ecosystem; Bilibili also rose about 6% in the same session. 3
Alibaba climbed about 2.9% to HK$153.30, keeping it among the day’s most active large-cap names as investors stayed selective inside the tech complex. Tencent held near HK$623 in the heavy-turnover list, while traders used megacaps to express broader China tech risk without straying far down the capitalization ladder. 4
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the market operator, traded higher as well, up about 0.7% at HK$418.60. Traders often treat the stock as a proxy for market activity because higher cash turnover and a busier listing calendar can lift fee income and data revenues. 5
Energy names dragged as investors recalibrated oil risk. Reuters said Hong Kong-listed energy stocks fell after markets digested a surprise U.S. move involving Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a development that injected fresh geopolitical uncertainty into crude-linked trades.
But the same AI theme that lifts parts of the tape can also tighten the screws on valuation if costs rise faster than revenue. “The costs are going up not down in our forecast, because there’s inflation in chip costs and inflation in power costs,” Morgan Stanley strategist Andrew Sheets told Reuters, pointing to the risk that heavier AI spending feeds through into higher input prices. 6
Traders also watched whether the Hang Seng held the 26,300 area after early gains faded, with oil volatility and tech leadership setting the intraday tone. A sharper pullback in crude or any sign of tighter financial conditions could keep pressure on cyclicals, even as stock pickers chase AI-linked momentum.
The next concrete catalyst lands this week: MarketScreener reported that AI firm MiniMax aims to price its Hong Kong IPO on Jan. 6, with trading scheduled to start on Jan. 9. Investors will use the deal’s pricing and early aftermarket performance as a read-through for broader appetite for Hong Kong-listed AI and tech names. 7
