HK Stocks Close Higher: Hang Seng Rises 1.33% Back Above 25,000 as Memory Chip Stocks Plunge
Miles Bennett
The Hang Seng rose 1.33% to 25,008.6, reclaiming the 25,000 mark on tech and auto strength, but memory-chip stocks plunged after Korean prosecutors raided semiconductor firms over an alleged price-fixing scheme.
Back above 25,000 — who did the heavy lifting?
Turnover hit HK$322.9 billion. The Hang Seng Tech Index led with a 1.98% gain.
Two mega-caps drove the rally: Alibaba added 55.68 points to the index, Xiaomi added 45.54 points — together roughly a third of the day's move.
This means → today's advance was not broad-based but a structural bounce pulled by a handful of tech heavyweights.
Why did internet names and on-device AI rally together?
Alibaba confirmed its Qwen model will be integrated into Apple Intelligence, providing text comprehension, image understanding, and content generation for China users. Shares rose 3.09%.
On the same day, China's Cyberspace Administration published filings for seven on-device AI services — including Apple Intelligence, Huawei Xiaoyi, and Xiaomi Surge. In plain terms = on-device AI (running AI locally on a phone instead of in the cloud) just cleared its last regulatory hurdle in China.
MeiG Smart surged 11.64%, AAC Technologies gained 6.54% — the market is betting that regulatory clearance will accelerate hardware demand for on-device AI.
Autos and gold both rallied — what's the logic for each?
Autos: the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers released a unified vehicle-cost accounting standard, ending years of inconsistent cost benchmarks across the industry. XPeng rose 7.61%, BYD gained 4.6%.
This means → a single cost yardstick shrinks the grey zone in price wars and favours carmakers with genuine cost discipline.
Gold: U.S. June CPI and PPI both missed expectations, slashing bets on a July Fed rate hike. DBS Bank forecasts gold may reach US$5,300/oz by year-end; Lingbao Gold climbed 6.04%.
Why did memory stocks crash?
Montage Technology plunged 22.95%, GigaDevice fell 8.68%, and the leveraged SK Hynix tracker dropped 21.32%.
The trigger: on July 15 Korean prosecutors raided the Korean offices of three semiconductor firms — Montage among them — investigating alleged price-fixing of memory components. In Korea, SK Hynix fell over 11% and Samsung Electronics dropped nearly 9%.
In plain terms = this is not a single-company issue. Prosecutors suspect collusion across the memory supply chain; if confirmed, the fines and forced restructuring would dwarf today's sell-off.
What signals are hiding in the single-stock movers?
Mafengwo (Milvus) issued a profit alert: first-half revenue up 100–121% year-on-year, net profit up 386–494%. Shares surged 30.57%. This reflects the extreme premium the market awards SaaS names that actually deliver on earnings.
Pop Mart rose 6.87% — Apple CEO Tim Cook posted on Weibo welcoming Pop Mart's team to Apple HQ, while Duan Yongping raised his stake to 7.65%. A dual catalyst.
What to watch next?
GF Securities sees the second half as likely offering only oversold-bounce windows, not a sustained rally. Heavy loss-making positions above the Hang Seng Tech Index mean any low-volume bounce into resistance could easily stall and reverse.
This means → the brokerage is not calling for a trend change but warning that this bounce may resemble the first half's pattern — speed of entry and exit matters more than direction.
The next development in the memory-chip price-fixing probe is the key variable for whether the tech sector can hold its current gains.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.