The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388) will launch 18 stock option categories in batches, covering artificial intelligence, the automotive industry, etc.

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 13, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388) announced that it will launch 18 stock option categories in batches on August 10, August 17, and August 31, 2026. The target industries include artificial intelligence, automobiles, mining, etc. Along with this new product, HKEx's weekly stock options contracts will cover 52 listed companies across different sectors.

The new stock options launched this time will simultaneously provide weekly and monthly maturing contracts from the first trading day, further expanding investor options and allowing market participants to select the most suitable maturity contracts according to their trading and risk management needs.

Stock options are one of the fastest-growing derivatives of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with an average daily turnover of over 942,000 contracts in the first half of 2026, up 9% from the same period last year. Among them, weekly stock options are also popular with investors. Since their launch in November 2024, the volume has exceeded 43 million contracts and continues to account for about 21% of the volume of related stock options products.