In the Hong Kong stock market, the Hang Seng Index closed up 44 points in the half-day session, with SMIC rising over 3% and Biontech soaring by 20%

On the eve of the Christmas holiday, the Hong Kong stock market today (24th) had only a half-day session. The Hang Seng Index opened up 5 points and then expanded its gains to 116 points, reaching a high of 25,890 points. However, the upward momentum later reversed, closing at 25,818 points, up 44 points or 0.17%; the National Index rose slightly by 1 point, closing at 8,915 points; the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 10 points or 0.19%, closing at 5,499 points. The total market turnover was HKD 92.524 billion.

The United States has extended the deadline for imposing tariffs on Chinese chips to June 2027. Additionally, it was reported that SMIC (00981.HK) has implemented price increases on some production capacities, with an increase of about 10%. Its stock price rose by 3.1%, making it the best-performing blue-chip stock. Its peer Hua Hong (01347.HK) rose by 1.6%.

Technology stocks showed mixed performance, with Tencent (00700.HK) rising by 0.2%. Alibaba-W (09988.HK) fell by 0.8%, as it was reported that Alibaba is pushing "Qianwen Zhixue" to enhance AI education. JD.com-SW (09618.HK) remained flat at HKD 112.8, with reports of a theft involving digital devices worth 340 million RMB at JD's warehouse in France. JD responded that the reported loss figures differ significantly from the actual situation. NetEase-S (09999.HK), Kuaishou-W (01024.HK), and SenseTime-W (00020.HK) each rose by 0.2% to 0.5%. Xiaomi-W (01810.HK) rose by 0.05%. Meituan-W (03690.HK) closed flat at HKD 103.2. Trip.com-S (09961.HK) and Baidu-SW (09888.HK) fell by 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively.

In the automotive sector, BYD (01211.HK) rose by 0.5%. Nio-SW (09866.HK), Li Auto-W (02015.HK), Geely Automobile (00175.HK), and XPeng-W (09868.HK) each fell by 0.2% to 0.5%.

In the financial sector, HSBC (00005.HK) rose by 1.2% to HKD 123.8, continuing to break records, while AIA (01299.HK) rose by 0.7%. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388.HK) rose by 0.6%, and it will gradually transition to a paperless securities market starting next year, introducing new securities custody procedures and adjusting its fee structure.

Regarding individual stocks, Cathay Pacific (00293.HK) Chairman He Yili will retire in May next year, with Bai Deli taking over, and the stock price fell by 0.5%. BioAstin (02315.HK) was added to the Hong Kong Stock Connect eligible securities list, and its stock price surged by 22.2%. Color Star Technology (00869.HK) fell by over 14%, as the licensing agreement for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" products will not be renewed starting in 2027. Runge Interactive (02422.HK) raised HKD 69.6 million through a 19.44% discounted placement, closing the day up by 9.3%.

As for Haier Smart Home (06690.HK), it fell by 2.3%, making it the worst-performing blue-chip stock. Haidilao (06862.HK), Mengniu (02319.HK), and Li Ning (02331.HK) all fell by over 1% CK Hutchison Holdings is stable, CK Hutchison (00001.HK) rose 0.5%, Cheung Kong Infrastructure (01038.HK) and Power Assets Holdings (00006.HK) each rose 1.8%