The Hang Seng Index fell 149 points in the half-day session, Alibaba rebounded, Trip.com dropped by 20%, while lithium battery and metal stocks rose against the market trend｜Hong Kong stock market opening

The Hang Seng Index opened 27 points lower this morning, and although it briefly "turned positive" by 207 points, reaching a high of 27,206 points, it gradually fell back after 10 AM, closing down 149 points or 0.55% at 26,850 points, once again failing to stabilize above the 27,000-point mark, with a half-day turnover of HKD 163.8 billion. As for the Tech Index, it reported 5,799 points at midday, down 108 points or 1.83%. Among the heavyweight blue-chip stocks, Alibaba (9988) saw its Qianwen App fully integrate with Taobao, Alipay, Taobao Flash Sale, Fliggy, and Amap, but its stock price fell nearly 3%; Trip.com (9961) is under investigation for suspected monopolistic behavior abusing market dominance, plummeting nearly 20%; along with Tencent (700) and Kuaishou (1024) which fell 1.3% and 3.4% respectively, these were the main stocks dragging down the performance of the Hang Seng Index. In terms of blue-chip stock price fluctuations, aside from Trip.com, Alibaba Health (241), which surged yesterday, also significantly retraced over 8%, making it one of the worst-performing blue chips; China Life (2628) also fell 2.8%. Resource Nationalism Creates a "Metal Bull Market" However, some lithium battery and metal stocks rose against the trend, with Ganfeng Lithium (1772) up over 5% at midday, Tianqi Lithium (9696) rising 3.7%, and Zhongchuang Innovation (3931) also up 2.5%; among non-ferrous metal stocks, Liqin Resources (2245) rose nearly 10%, Jiaxin (3858) increased over 5%, and Jiangxi Copper (358) and Chifeng Gold (6693) also rose over 1%. On the news front, CITIC Securities pointed out that resource nationalism is gradually rising, with strategic resources being "weaponized" in the process of great power competition, the rigidity of supply becoming "visible," and the demand benefiting from industrial changes collectively forging a strategic metal bull market pattern. The firm also noted that the global political and economic situation is becoming increasingly turbulent, with a trend of de-globalization emerging, making control over scarce resources important, where key strategic mineral resources have become a new battleground for countries. ————— The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on the legality of the Trump administration's tariff policy, with a final result expected as early as next week. On the other hand, U.S. President Trump has signed two executive orders imposing a 25% tariff on certain semiconductor products and signed an executive order on critical minerals to secure the national supply of rare earths. Following this news, Nvidia (NVDA) saw its stock price drop 1.4% on Wednesday, while AMD (AMD) rose 1.2%; rare earth concept stocks surged across the board, with Critical Metals (CRML) rising over 32% and MP Materials (MP) also up over 8%. U.S. Stocks Retreat, Gold and Silver Prices Remain in Demand The three major U.S. stock indices fell, with the Dow closing down 42 points or 0.09% at 49,149 points; the S&P 500 fell 37 points or 0.53%; and the Nasdaq dropped 238 points or 1%. As for the Golden Dragon Index, which reflects the performance of Chinese concept stocks, it fell 0.23% to 7,856 points on Wednesday. With geopolitical tensions continuing, gold and silver prices remain in demand, with spot gold reaching a new high of USD 4,343 on Wednesday, and the latest price reported at USD 4,612; Silver prices rose over 7% to over $93 on Wednesday, and saw a slight drop this morning, currently reported at about $91.93. Baidu considers switching to "dual listing" In the Hong Kong stock market, the Hang Seng Index opened down 27 points this morning, reporting 26,972 points. Tech stocks showed mixed developments, with Alibaba (9988) opening down 0.06%; Tencent (700) down 0.3%; Meituan (3690) up 0.5%; Xiaomi (1810) unchanged; JD.com (9618) up 0.26%. As for Baidu (9888), it is reported that the company is considering changing its current "secondary listing" method in Hong Kong to a "dual listing" to attract more mainland investors and avoid potential adverse policies from the United States; the stock opened at HKD 146.4, up 0.9%. Trip.com continues to decline, opening down 15% Additionally, the State Administration for Market Regulation of China announced that it has launched an investigation into Trip.com Group (9961) for suspected monopolistic behavior in abusing its market dominance under the Anti-Monopoly Law. After a 6.5% drop yesterday, Trip.com (9961) fell another 15% this morning, reporting HKD 484.2. WuXi AppTec proposes a full acquisition of Easton Pharmaceuticals In other stock news, WuXi Biologics (2269) announced that through its subsidiary WuXi AppTec (2268), it has made a full acquisition offer to Easton Pharmaceuticals (1875), which has been suspended from trading and is engaged in the research and production of anti-tumor drugs, at a price of HKD 4 per share, a 60% premium over the pre-suspension price of HKD 2.5; WuXi Biologics and WuXi AppTec reported HKD 39.78 and HKD 74 this morning, down 0.5% and 2.3% respectively, while Easton surged nearly 59% upon resumption of trading. China Rare Earth plans to change its name and terminate spin-off listing Furthermore, China Rare Earth (3788) announced plans to rename itself to Rare Earth Gold International Limited and terminate its original plan for a spin-off listing of Rare Earth Gold, focusing its manpower and financial resources to fully support the development and production of the Mt Bundy gold mine project, while maintaining stable production operations in its iron ore and high-purity iron businesses. At the same time, the group's controlling shareholder has committed not to reduce its shareholding before December 31, 2028. The stock opened at HKD 4.15, down 2.3%. Regarding the northbound capital flow, there was a net purchase of HKD 2.865 billion in Hong Kong stocks yesterday, with Tencent (700), Alibaba Health (241), and Alibaba (9988) receiving net purchases of HKD 2.009 billion, HKD 1.458 billion, and HKD 1.134 billion respectively; China Mobile (941), Xiaomi (1810), and Jingtao (2228) saw net sales of HKD 913 million, HKD 423 million, and HKD 309 million respectively