Hong Kong stocks closed (12.17) | Hang Seng Index closed up 0.92%, “lithium industry duos” showed strong changes and strengthened, and Chinese brokerage stocks rallied at the end of the session

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the Federal Reserve released mixed feelings about non-agricultural data on Tuesday, but the market expects interest rate cuts to continue to heat up. Today, the Hong Kong stock market opened low and turned red in the afternoon. All three major indices rose at the end of the session. At the close, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.92% or 233.37 points to 25468.78 points, with a full-day turnover of HK$183.141 billion; the Hang Seng State-owned Enterprises Index rose 0.98% to 8843.57 points; and the Hang Seng Technology Index rose 1.03% to 5457.95 points.

SPDB International believes that since November, the Hong Kong stock market sentiment index has fluctuated due to repeated expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and a correction in the AI sector of US stocks. Currently, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index's forward-looking price-earnings ratio is 12.7 times, down 5% from its highest point during the year. In the absence of new catalysts, short-term sentiment in the Hong Kong stock market may enter a period of volatile recovery, but there is no need to be blindly pessimistic. Short-term style and main investment lines may rotate, and the “technology+dividend” barbell strategy is still effective.

Blue-chip stock performance

Li Ning (02331) performed brilliantly. At the close, it rose 4.26% to HK$19.07, with a turnover of HK$613 million, contributing 2.91 points to the Hang Seng Index. The Li Ning brand's first dragon store opened in Taikoo Li, Sanlitun, Beijing on December 14. At the same time, Li Ning launched a new Honor Gold Label series of products. CICC believes that this move is a further strengthening of the company's Olympic product matrix layout. CICC also said that as the new Olympic cycle begins, Li Ning is gradually experimenting with new product lines and new store types, which is expected to continue to enhance the brand's influence in the minds of consumers.

In terms of other blue-chip stocks, China Life Insurance (02628) rose 4.31% to HK$28.56, contributing 14.03 points to the Hang Seng Index; Bubble Mart (09992) rose 3.44% to HK$195.7, contributing 7.71 points to the Hang Seng Index; Xinao Energy (02688) fell 2.37% to HK$69.9, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 2.16 points; Chuangke Industrial (00669) fell 2.02% to HK$89.8, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 4.33 points.

Popular sector aspects

On the market, the Federal Reserve released mixed results on Tuesday. The market atmosphere eased slightly against the backdrop of rising interest rate cuts, and most large technology stocks picked up; non-ferrous metals such as gold, silver, and copper showed positive results due to this news. The passenger occupancy rate in November was impressive in the off-season. Aviation stocks continued their upward trend today. The agency said that the short-term impact on the daily line may bring another opportunity for layout. Recently, Yichun plans to cancel 27 mining rights, and “lithium industry leaders” changed and strengthened throughout the day. A new round of dividend payments from brokerage firms has entered the implementation stage. Market activity remains high, and Chinese brokerage firms are increasing at the end of the session. Furthermore, the market is concerned that three brokerage firms, including CICC, will soon issue restructuring announcements and resume trading. On the other side, the optical communication concept rebounded strongly, and the end of Changfei Optical Fiber Cable (06869) increased by more than 20%.

1. Aviation stocks continued their upward trend. At the close, China Southern Airlines (01055) rose 5.89% to HK$5.57; Air China (00753) rose 4.02% to HK$6.73; and Eastern Airlines (00670) rose 3.77% to HK$4.95.

According to the latest operating data, the passenger occupancy rate of the three major domestic airlines in November was impressive. The passenger occupancy rate of China Eastern Airlines reached 87.37%, up 3.04 percentage points from the previous year; the passenger occupancy rate of China Southern Airlines was 86.29%, up 1.36 percentage points from the previous year; and the passenger occupancy rate of China Airlines was 83.3%, up 4 percentage points from the previous year. CITIC Securities pointed out that according to the three quarterly reports of various airlines, the passenger occupancy rate of off-season airlines is high at 85.3% to 93.2%, focusing on the “anti-inflection” marginal variable of civil aviation driving the transmission of high passenger occupancy rates to ticket price elasticity.

Recently, with regard to the adjustment of Japanese routes by many airlines, Daima believes that despite the impact of Japanese routes, passenger traffic at mainland China's airports continued to increase healthily in November. CITIC Securities said that according to the 25/26 winter and spring season flight plan, judging from the proportion of international flights between China and Japan during the winter and spring season, China Eastern Airlines/Air China/China Southern Airlines each accounted for 22.6% /22.3%/13.7%, while Chunqiu and Jixiang accounted for more than 50%. The short-term impact requires further observation to focus on the possible spillover direction of passenger flow, or mainly for Southeast Asia routes and domestic routes in the Northeast region.

2. The “lithium industry duos” changed and strengthened. At the close, Tianqi Lithium (09696) rose 5.83% to HK$49.34; Ganfeng Lithium (01772) rose 5.75% to HK$51.9.

According to reports, the Yichun Natural Resources Bureau recently issued the “Notice Concerning the Proposed Cancellation of 27 Mining Rights”. According to the “Mineral Resources Law” and other relevant requirements, the Yichun Natural Resources Bureau plans to cancel 27 mining licenses. They will now be announced to the public (December 12, 2025 to January 22, 2026). The publicity period is 30 working days. After the publicity period expires, the relevant obligations such as ecological restoration will be carried out by the original mine owners. According to Jiangte Electric's announcement, the company has submitted an objection.

Huatai Futures believes that lithium carbonate prices are likely to remain high and volatile in the short term. We need to focus on the pace of capacity release and capital trends, and be wary of increased fluctuations caused by marginal changes in supply and demand. Also, it is worth mentioning that it is rumored that Jianxiawo cannot resume production during the year due to missing EIA documents. For this reason, some market research institutes have analyzed that expectations for the resumption of production at the Jianxiawo lithium mine continue to fall short. It is expected that the gap between supply and demand for lithium carbonate will continue in the short term, and the dewarehousing trend will continue. Demand side energy storage demand is expected to be maintained. As a result, there is a shortage of lithium carbonate and the expectation that medium- to long-term energy storage demand will drive a reversal in the supply and demand pattern of lithium carbonate continues. Prices continued to fluctuate strongly.

3. Chinese brokerage stocks rallied at the end of the session. At the close, CITIC Securities (06030) rose 3.4% to HK$27.98; China Merchants Securities (06099) rose 2.72% to HK$14.37; Cathay Pacific Haitong (02611) rose 2.26% to HK$16.29; and China Galaxy (06681) rose 2.25% to HK$10.45.

According to economic references, since December, many listed brokerage firms, including Great Wall, Societe Generale, Huatai, and Capital, have issued dividend implementation announcements, and a new round of dividend payments has entered the implementation stage. Under the active guidance of policies such as regulation and encouraging listed brokerage firms to raise the level of cash dividends, the amount of dividends paid by listed brokerage firms exceeded 54.8 billion yuan during the year, and 14 of them have implemented dividends of more than 1 billion yuan.

China Galaxy Securities pointed out that the country's policy goals of “steady growth, stabilizing the stock market” and “boosting the capital market” will continue to set the future direction of the sector. Various factors such as continuing the moderately loose liquidity environment, continuous optimization of the capital market environment, and reshaping investor confidence will jointly drive the upward trend in the securities sector. In the current environment, medium- to long-term capital enters the market at an accelerated pace, market activity remains high, and the capital market is showing a “healthy bull” trend. Wealth management transformation, international business expansion, and fintech empowerment are all expected to drive the industry to increase ROE.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that on November 20, it was revealed that CICC had absorbed Dongxing Securities and Cinda Securities, and the three companies collectively suspended trading. According to the relevant regulations of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, trading is expected to be suspended for no more than 25 trading days. Based on this calculation, the three companies will soon issue restructuring announcements and resume trading. Industry analysts believe that the resumption of trading by the three companies may greatly help the brokerage sector.

Popular exotic stocks

1. Zhaoyan Pharmaceutical (06127) continued its impressive performance, rising 10.36% to HK$25.58 at the close.

Recently, the market is focusing on crab-eating monkeys as pre-clinical safety assessment test assets. According to Beijing Commercial Daily, the price of experimental monkeys showed an accelerated upward trend on December 9, 2025, about 140,000 yuan/piece. Fangzheng Securities pointed out that experimental monkeys are a rigid resource for pre-clinical safety assessments, and demand is increasing as pre-clinical CRO orders pick up steadily; moreover, it is difficult to expand production in the short term on the supply side. Some monkey farms indicated that production capacity has been scheduled until the first quarter of 2026. It is expected that supply and demand will remain tight, and short-term prices are expected to rise further. According to reports, as a leading enterprise in the preclinical CRO field, Zhaoyan Pharmaceutical plays a key supporting role in its business development, and the company is deeply tied to the experimental monkey industry through layout.

2. Yaojie Ankang-B (02617) strengthened throughout the day. At the close, it rose 17.41% to HK$171.3.

Recently, Yaojie Ankang-B announced that the core product, tengotinib, an exploratory phase 2 clinical results for cholangiocarcinoma in the US were published in “The Lancet, Gastroenterology, and Hepatology” (influencing factor 38.6). According to reports, at present, tengotinib has carried out a number of clinical trials on solid tumors such as cholangiocarcinoma, prostate cancer, and breast cancer in China and the US, and has obtained “orphan drug certification” (ODD) and “fast track qualification certification” granted by the US FDA for treating cholangiocarcinoma. The Chinese NMPA has approved inclusion in the list of breakthrough treatment types and priority review varieties, and orphan drug certification (ODD) for treating biliary tract cancer granted by the European EMA.

The performance of 300M Capital International (00259) was sluggish. As of press release, it was down 8.44% to HK$4.12.

Today, Mu Xi Co., Ltd. was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board. The early trading bid was 568% higher. The stock price was 700 yuan. The total market value reached 280 billion yuan, and the profit of a single contract was nearly 300,000 yuan. The company is mainly engaged in self-development of full-stack high-performance GPU chips and computing platforms. Its products include Xisi N-series GPUs for intelligent reasoning, Xiyun C-series GPUs for training and general computing, and Xicai G-series GPUs for graphics rendering. According to public information, Shufeng Information is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yidu International and a core customer and shareholder of Mu Xi.