HK Stocks Midday: Hang Seng Up 2.12%, Innovative Drug Index Surges 8.9% to Lead Gains
Alina Collins
The Hang Seng Index rose 2.12% to 23,153 at the midday break, while the Innovative Drug Index surged 8.9% — over 600 drugs cleared the initial NRDL review and the "NRDL + commercial insurance" dual-catalogue negotiation entered its substantive phase, igniting the rally.
How broad was the rally?
The Hang Seng Index hit 23,153, up 481 points or 2.12% by midday.
The Hang Seng Tech Index rose 3.68%; the Hang Seng Biotech Index rose 7.65%. Morning turnover reached HK$172.9 billion.
This means → money was not spread evenly — it poured into biotech and innovative drugs first, with tech following close behind.
Why did innovative drugs become the day's strongest theme?
The Hang Seng Innovative Drug Index jumped 8.9% in a single session — the biggest sectoral gain of the day.
Over 600 drugs passed the initial review for the NRDL (National Reimbursement Drug List). The "NRDL + commercial insurance" dual-catalogue negotiation has entered its substantive phase. In plain terms = many innovative drugs could not get on the reimbursement list before; now the real talks have begun, and a deal would sharply lift sales and revenue expectations for drugmakers.
Key movers: RemeGen +15%, CanNova-B +14%, Akeso +12%, Innovent +7% — a broad-based surge.
Which other drugmakers rallied, and why?
Henlius surged over 12% after its H-drug won EU approval for a new indication, achieving first-line coverage across all core lung-cancer subtypes. This means → a new overseas revenue channel has opened.
Grand Pharma-B rose over 8% — the NDA for its KJ103 drug was recently accepted by China's NMPA.
Yao Jie An Kang-B soared 39% after announcing a buyback of up to RMB 100 million in H-shares. In plain terms = the company is spending real money to buy its own stock — the market reads that as a strong confidence signal.
How did tech and AI stocks follow?
XtalPi jumped over 15% after its AI autonomous lab workstation landed at Sinopec — a concrete industrial deployment for AI.
Horizon Robotics-W rose 15%. The smart-driving chip market has settled into a "two leaders" pattern, and the company's HSD chip continues to ship at volume.
GigaDevice rose nearly 7% to a fresh high. Apple reportedly wants to source CXMT memory; Citi is bullish on the CXMT-related supply chain. This reflects overseas purchase intent pulling the entire domestic memory chain higher.
How did the day's IPOs perform?
Libang Pharma debuted and doubled by midday — +100% — billed as the "first kidney-disease innovative drug" listing.
Baige Online debuted up 317%; the company ranks fifth among China's scenario-based online insurance intermediaries.
HG Genuinecore debuted up 45%; its opto-electronic interconnect products are widely used in AI data centres.
Can this rally last?
Tekong Agri rose over 8% on strengthening hog-cycle reversal expectations; management bought over RMB 100 million in shares. Liqin Resources rose over 9%, guiding first-half net profit up more than 57% year-on-year.
A counter-signal: Kingboard Holdings fell over 7% again as its major shareholder sold shares for the third straight day.
How far this innovative-drug rally goes hinges on the final coverage scope and pricing outcome of the "NRDL + commercial insurance" dual-catalogue negotiation. Put simply = a good deal with broad drug coverage and reasonable pricing gives the rally fundamental support; otherwise it may prove a short-lived, news-driven pulse.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.