According to the market review, the Hang Seng Index fell by over 2%, the Tech Index declined by 4%, while Lao Pu and CHOW TAI FOOK rose against the trend

Market attention is focused on the developments in the China-U.S. trade negotiations, with technology stocks under pressure in the afternoon. The Hang Seng Index and the Tech Index both fell nearly 2.5% and 4.1% today (17th). Market concerns shifted to worries about bad loans at U.S. banks, coupled with ongoing trade tensions and pressures from the U.S. government shutdown. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq both dropped 0.7% and 0.5% respectively on the night of the 16th. At the time of writing, the yield on U.S. 2-year bonds fell to 3.395%, the yield on U.S. 10-year bonds fell to 3.959%, and the U.S. dollar index dropped to 98.6. Dow futures were down 488 points or 1.1%, and Nasdaq futures were down 384 points or 1.6%. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 76 points or 2% to close at 3,839 points, the Shenzhen Component Index fell 3%, and the ChiNext Index declined 3.4%, with a total trading volume of 1.94 trillion yuan in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets.

The Hang Seng Index opened down 36 points and then expanded its losses, dropping 743 points at one point to a low of 25,145 points due to a sharp decline in A-shares. It closed down 641 points or 2.5% at 25,247 points; the National Index fell 247 points or 2.7% to close at 9,011 points; the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 243 points or 4.1% to close at 5,760 points. The total trading volume for the day was 314.624 billion yuan. The total trading volume of northbound trading was 153.005 billion yuan, while southbound funds had a net inflow of 6.303 billion yuan today (compared to a net inflow of 15.822 billion yuan yesterday). In the telecommunications equipment sector, ZTE (00763.HK) saw its stock price drop 12.8%, and BYD Electronics (00285.HK) fell 8.1%.

The Hang Seng Index has cumulatively dropped 1,043 points or nearly 4% this week, the National Index has cumulatively dropped 346 points or 3.7%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index has cumulatively dropped 499 points or nearly 8%, while southbound funds had a net inflow of 45.089 billion yuan this week. Uncertainty regarding the China-U.S. trade outlook has surged since last weekend, with U.S. President Trump previously threatening to impose an additional 100% tariff on imports from China starting in November. The market is paying attention to the developments in China-U.S. relations, and during the week, Trump announced that the two countries have fallen into a trade war, while the U.S. Treasury Secretary suggested extending the 90-day truce period. Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng recently stated that the U.S. should stop extreme pressure and resolve concerns through dialogue based on equal consultation.

【Increased Selling Pressure on the Hang Seng Index, Technology Stocks Under Pressure】

Technology stocks faced selling pressure, with Alibaba-W (09988.HK) falling 4.2% to close at 154.4 yuan, with a trading volume of 20.78 billion yuan. Xiaomi (01810.HK) fell 3.6% to close at 45.96 yuan, and Tencent (00700.HK) dropped 1.9% to close at 608 yuan. Meanwhile, SMIC (00981.HK) fell nearly 6.5% to close at 69.1 yuan, and Hua Hong Semiconductor (01347.HK) dropped 6.9%.

Bank of China International released a report on the Chinese internet industry, stating that artificial intelligence, macro environment, competitive landscape, regulatory policies, shareholder return execution, and China-U.S. relations will be the six key factors affecting the financial performance and valuation of Chinese internet-listed companies in the next 6 to 12 months In the current turbulent and volatile market environment, considering the third quarter performance preview, counter-cyclical core capabilities, and financial visibility (especially short-term profitability and shareholder return execution), the bank recommends adopting a relatively defensive asset allocation strategy. The bank's short-term priority ranking is: Tencent > NetEase-S (09999.HK) > JOYY (JOYY.US) > Tencent Music-SW (01698.HK).

【Stocks Drop, Lao Pu Gold Rises】

The Hong Kong stock market has slightly weakened, with the rise and fall ratio of main board stocks at 8 to 44 (compared to 26 to 24 the previous day), with 1,807 declining stocks (down 3.6%). Today, 9 constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index rose, while 77 fell, with a rise and fall ratio of 10 to 88 (compared to 52 to 45 the previous day). The market recorded short selling of HKD 53.152 billion today, accounting for 19.31% of the total turnover of shortable stocks at HKD 275.259 billion.

Gold prices broke through the USD 4,300 mark to reach a new high, with gold mining stocks showing mixed performance. Zhaojin (01818.HK) fell 2.5%, while Zijin Mining International (02259.HK) rose nearly 0.3%. Gold jewelry stock Lao Pu Gold (06181.HK) rose 3.1% to close at HKD 828.5, with a turnover of HKD 2.254 billion. Chow Tai Fook (01929.HK) bounced up 5% to close at HKD 16.52, making it the blue-chip stock with the largest increase.

According to domestic media reports, Lao Pu Gold announced a price adjustment notice, which will take effect on October 26 (Sunday). The details of the product price adjustment will be based on the actual pricing of products in online and offline stores. This is the third price adjustment for Lao Pu Gold this year, with the previous two occurring in February and August. UBS published a report upgrading Lao Pu's rating to "Buy," considering the valuation pressure and the potential product price increase in the last quarter (already implemented), which may support short-term sales and gross margins