The Zhitong Finance App learned that the US CPI exceeded expectations in September, triggering market concerns about further tightening of the Federal Reserve. AI trading collectively cooled down. The three major Hong Kong stock indices opened low today, and the Hang Seng Index narrowly held the 244 mark. At the close, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.03% or 251.45 points to 24062.72 points, with a full day turnover of HK$224.165 billion; the Hang Seng State-owned Enterprises Index fell 0.98% to 8103.27 points; and the Hang Seng Technology Index fell 2.72% to 4060.99 points.
Cathay Pacific Haitong said that for Hong Kong stocks, capital headwinds increased in the fourth quarter. The reversal of the market depended on the new narrative of the global AI industry, verification of inflection points in the third quarter report or the strength of policies that exceeded expectations. In terms of allocation, emphasis was placed on the bottom position allocation value of high-quality assets for Hong Kong stock dividends. Currently, external liquidity is tightening and uncertainty is rising, and capital tends to pour into assets with stable cash flow and predictable dividends.
Blue-chip stock performance
Lenovo Group (00992) led the blue chip decline. At the close, it decreased by 14.54% to HK$25.98, with a turnover of HK$6.425 billion. Overnight, AI server stocks Dell and HPE plummeted 11% and 8.28% respectively. Barclays analysts said they had not seen a “meaningful AI inflection point” in corporate spending, and downgraded the ratings of Dell, HPE, and NetApp from “buy” to a level equivalent to “holding.” They believe that revenue growth should be due to a global shortage of memory chips, and point out that infrastructure companies have passed on the higher prices of memory chips to customers.
In terms of other blue-chip stocks, BeiGene (06160) rose 2.96% to HK$215.6; Hanson Pharmaceuticals (03692) rose 2.62% to HK$31.38; Huahong Hongli (01347) fell 7.83% to HK$76.55; and Ningde Times (03750) fell 3.94% to HK$448.6.
Popular sector aspects
On the market, Tech Net stocks generally declined, with Ali, Tencent, etc. falling green; concerns about inflation and the impact of the AI valuation bubble, and AI hardware such as storage chips, optical communications, and semiconductors fell sharply; it was rumored that the US was considering easing shadow fleet tanker sanctions, and shipping stocks fell sharply; non-ferrous metals, aviation stocks, and petroleum stocks were under pressure; on the other side, innovative pharmaceuticals stocks reversed the market, and bank stocks were relatively resistant to falling.
AI hardware collectively fell back. At the close, Changfei Optical Fiber Cable (06869) fell 13.17% to HK$122.6; Huahong Hongli (01347) fell 7.83% to HK$76.55; and Zhongji Xuchuang (03308) fell 7.49% to HK$784.
US inflation data exceeded expectations and concerns about the AI valuation bubble. Global technology stocks are facing a new round of shock. US CPI rose 3.7% year on year in September, and core CPI rose to 2.6%, both exceeding expectations. After the data was released, the market's bet on the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike in October once rose to 50%. Furthermore, the yield of CoreWeave bonds exceeded 15%, and the price fell below 80% of face value, raising market concerns about AI infrastructure financing costs. Goldman Sachs predicts that the capital expenditure growth rate of hyperscale cloud service providers will peak at 116% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2026 and drop to around 20% by the end of 2027.
Shipping stocks fell sharply. At the close, COSCO HNA (01138) fell 15.64% to HK$18.34; Pacific Shipping (02343) fell 9.73% to HK$3.62; Haifeng International (01308) fell 6.55% to HK$48.5; and Orient Overseas International (00316) fell 3.21% to HK$162.8.
According to Kim Ju quoting foreign media reports, the US Trump administration is considering easing sanctions against some “shadow fleets” tankers to ease the pressure brought about by the record rise in global tanker freight rates. A US official revealed on Wednesday that related discussions involved ships that were previously sanctioned for transporting oil and refined oil products from countries such as Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. Not long ago, US President Trump had just temporarily lifted sanctions against Russian diesel.
Non-ferrous metal stocks are under pressure. At the close, Luoyang Molybdenum (03993) fell 6.83% to HK$14.19; Minmetals Resources (01208) fell 6.42% to HK$7.87; and Aluminum (02600) fell 6.27% to HK$7.18.
The US CPI quarterly rose 0.6% month-on-month and 3.7% year-on-year; core CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month and 2.6% yoy, all rebounded from last month and exceeded market expectations. After the data was released, traders raised their bets on the Fed's interest rate hike in October. At the same time, it is expected that by the end of 2027, the 10-year US Treasury yield will rise and the US dollar will strengthen, directly suppressing the price of non-ferrous metals products denominated in US dollars.
Innovative drug stocks reversed the market. At the close, BeiGene (06160) rose 2.96% to HK$215.6; Zaiding Pharmaceuticals (09688) rose 2.69% to HK$17.95; Hanson Pharmaceuticals (03692) rose 2.62% to HK$31.38; and China Biopharmaceuticals (01177) rose 2.03% to HK$5.27.
On the policy side, the Party Committee of the State Council's State-owned Assets Administration Commission held an expanded meeting on October 14, clearly focusing on enhancing the core functions of the health industry and giving full play to the leading role of state-owned capital; the October 13 meeting of the National Health Insurance Administration proposed actively supporting pharmaceutical science and technology innovation and focusing on exploring the establishment of a “pre-pricing system for medical services” to clear up blockages in the commercialization of innovative products in terms of payment side and entry mechanisms. Industry-side catalysis is intense. The European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) annual meeting is approaching in late October. The conference has released more than 90 of the latest breakthrough summary titles, and many of China's original innovative assets will be showcased.
Popular exotic stocks
Tuiba (01753) continued its upward trend. At the close, it was up 14.39% to HK$0.755.
Daiba announced the AI skit business performance: According to the full network, the number of new broadcasts in July, August, and September was over 6.8 billion, 12.6 billion, and 26.4 billion, respectively, surpassing 45.8 billion times in a single season, with a month-on-month increase of more than 107% in September; the company expects the AI skit business to record net profit for three consecutive months in July, August, and September.
Guoen Technology (02768) rose significantly. At the close, it was up 9.84% to HK$29.48.
On the evening of October 14, Guoen Technology announced that net profit for the first nine months of 2026 will be about 950 million yuan to 1.1 billion yuan, an increase of 54.45% to 78.84% year-on-year, after deducting non-net profit of about 920 million yuan to 1.07 billion yuan, an increase of 54.14% to 79.27% over the previous year; the company said it would take advantage of the integrated synergy of the entire industry chain, and the steady increase in product added value and overall competitiveness.
Xiaomi Group-W (01810) rebounded against the market. At the close, it was up 2.65% to HK$27.08.
The Xiaomi Group's Pengcheng series has secured orders for more than 70,000 vehicles in the first month of its launch. According to some analysis, its user base has gradually broken through the traditional rice fan circle; the company continues to advance in the “full ecosystem of people and cars” strategy, and Caitong Securities believes that the integration of AI and “the whole ecosystem of people and cars” is expected to strengthen long-term product differentiation.
Lide Education (01449) fell sharply. At the close, it was down 25.21% to HK$0.905.
The Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission announced on October 14 that it recently conducted an investigation on the company's share distribution. The results showed that on October 6, 2026, 20 shareholders held a total of 230 million shares, equivalent to 28.74% of the issued share capital. Together with 2 controlling shareholders and 1 major shareholder, they held about 497 million shares, accounting for a total of 90.82% of the issued shares, meaning that only 73.41 million shares, or 9.18% of the issued shares, were held by other shareholders.
Communication Holdings (02636) broke its debut. At the close, it was down 5.72% to HK$33.28.
According to Frost & Sullivan data, in 2025, Communication Holdings ranked third in the global mobile phone market by sales volume, with sales volume of about 169 million units, with a market share of 11.8%; ranked eighth in terms of revenue, with revenue of about US$8 billion, with a share of 1.7%. In emerging markets, the company ranked first in terms of mobile phone sales, with a share of 20.0%; in the African market, it ranked first in terms of sales volume, with a share of 53.1%.