<p>The Hang Seng Index opened 268 points higher this morning, reaching a maximum increase of 335 points, but the gains narrowed thereafter. At noon, the Hang Seng Index rose 109 points or 0.43%, reporting 25,770 points, with a turnover of HKD 121.403 billion. The Tech Index rose 8 points or 0.17%, reporting 4,830 points.</p>
<p>Tech stocks showed mixed developments, with Baidu (9888) rising 3.91%, as its subsidiary DuClaw announced a new round of upgrades to connect more service-oriented vertical software in the future; Alibaba (9988) rose 1.14%; Xiaomi (1810) fell 0.07%; Tencent (700) fell 0.24%; Meituan (3690) fell 2.43%.</p>
<p>POP MART (9992) rose 6.01% to HKD 160.6, becoming the best-performing blue chip. This was mainly due to Duan Yongping frequently mentioning POP MART recently, even stating, &#34;The barriers for POP MART are greater than imagined, I am now a fan of Wang Ning.&#34;</p>
<h2>Sandisk Hits Historical High, Driving Sector Strength</h2>
<p>The semiconductor sector collectively rose, benefiting from Sandisk, a U.S. stock in the memory chip sector, hitting a historical high, with a year-to-date increase of over 300%. Aisino (600) rose 13.2%; Fourier (3625) rose 12.1%; Zhaoyi Innovation (3986) rose 8.7%; Innosilicon (2577) rose 3.3%; Southern Double Long SK Hynix (7709) also rose 15.95%.</p>
<p>In individual stocks, AI general model company UNISOUND (9678) surged 34.8%, with its 2025 performance exceeding expectations, reporting revenue of RMB 1.21 billion, a year-on-year growth of 29%. Revenue from related large model businesses reached RMB 610 million, growing over 101 times year-on-year.</p>
<p>Additionally, PATEO (2889) rose 21.48%, as the company officially signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Minsheng Bank. According to the agreement, Minsheng Bank agreed to provide PATEO with a RMB 2.5 billion indicative credit line.</p>
<hr/>
<p>U.S. Vice President Mike Pence stated in an interview with Fox News on Monday that significant progress has been made in U.S.-Iran negotiations; according to a reporter from The Atlantic, the next round of &#34;direct negotiations&#34; between the U.S. and Iran may take place on Thursday (16th) in Islamabad. Furthermore, U.S. President Trump also told the media on Monday that Iran had called the U.S. that morning, expressing a desire to reach an agreement.</p>
<h2>Optimism for U.S.-Iran Agreement Boosts U.S. Stocks, Oil Prices Drop</h2>
<p>The market is optimistic about a potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran, with all three major U.S. stock indices rising on Wednesday. The Dow Jones rose 301 points or 0.63%, reporting 48,218 points; the S&amp;P 500 rose 69 points or 1.02%, reporting 6,886 points; the Nasdaq rose 280 points or 1.23%, reporting 23,183 points. The Golden Dragon Index, which reflects the performance of Chinese concept stocks, also rose 0.72% to 6,855 points. International oil prices fell, with WTI crude oil and Brent crude oil futures dropping 1.9% and 2.1%, reporting USD 97.47 and USD 97.01, respectively</p>
<h2>Storage stocks are clearly favored, SanDisk rises nearly 12%</h2>
<p>In the focus sector, storage-related stocks are clearly favored, with SanDisk (SNDK) set to be included in the Nasdaq 100 index before the market opens on April 20. There are reports that the company is accelerating the development of high-bandwidth flash memory (HBF), and on Monday, its stock price rose nearly 12% to $952.5, up over 300% this year; peer Micron Technology (MU) rose 1.4%, while Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate Technology (STX) also both rose nearly 2%.</p>
<p>Related article: SanDisk's inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 is likely to trigger significant institutional buying.</p>
<h2>Japanese and Korean stocks rise, Hang Seng Index opens up 268 points</h2>
<p>Asian Pacific stock markets rose this morning, with Japanese stocks up over 2.5%, reporting 57,931 points; Korean stocks rose over 3.2%, reporting 5,996 points. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened up 268 points, reporting 25,929 points. Tech stocks generally rose, with Alibaba (9988) opening up 1.9%; Tencent (700) rose 1.5%; Meituan (3690) rose 1.1%; Xiaomi (1810) rose 1.6%; JD.com (9618) rose 0.6%; and Baidu (9888) rose 3%.</p>
<p>In individual stock news, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (3750) is reportedly exploring a placement to raise about $5 billion (approximately HKD 39 billion); the stock opened at HKD 680, down 0.4%.</p>
<p>Related article: Contemporary Amperex Technology reportedly plans to raise HKD 39 billion through placement, stock price has increased 1.6 times since listing in Hong Kong.</p>
<h2>Lingbao Gold offers a 4.5% discount for placement to raise HKD 780 million</h2>
<p>Additionally, Lingbao Gold (3330) plans to issue 29.816 million H shares in a back-to-back placement to raise HKD 780 million, equivalent to approximately 2.48% of the expanded issued H shares and about 2.16% of the issued shares, with a placement price of HKD 26.16 per share, a discount of 4.5% compared to the previous closing price of HKD 27.4; the stock opened at HKD 27.96, up 2%.</p>
<p>Regarding the northbound capital flow, there was a net purchase of HKD 2.249 billion in Hong Kong stocks yesterday, with Xiaomi (1810), CNOOC (883), and SMIC (981) receiving net purchases of HKD 273 million, HKD 218 million, and HKD 107 million respectively; while Tencent (700), Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (6869), and Alibaba (9988) faced net sales of HKD 1.689 billion, HKD 207 million, and HKD 117 million respectively</p>

BIDU

02889

09988

<p>The Hang Seng Index rose 109 points at noon, reporting 25,770 points, with a turnover of HKD 121.403 billion. The Tech Index rose 8 points, Baidu rose 3.91%, Alibaba rose 1.14%, and POP MART rose 6.01%. The semiconductor sector increased due to Sandisk reaching a historical high, with Aito rising 13.2%. UNISOUND surged 34.8%, and PATEO rose 21.48%. The market is optimistic about the progress of US-Iran negotiations, leading to a drop in oil prices</p>

- The Hang Seng Index opened 268 points higher and reached a peak increase of 335 points, closing at a gain of 109 points or 0.43% at 25,770 points, with a turnover of 121.4 billion Hong Kong dollars.  
- Key technology stocks showed mixed results, with Baidu rising 3.91% and market focus on semiconductor stocks, particularly SanDisk, which surged nearly 12% following its inclusion in the NASDAQ 100 index.  
- Meanwhile, positive sentiment around US-Iran negotiations contributed to a rise in US stock markets, while international oil prices declined.

Stheadline

Baidu

PATEO

BABA-W

Sandisk

ILUVATAR COREX

POP MART

Alibaba

UNISOUND

ChinaAMC SSE STAR Semiconductor Material & Equipment Thematic ETF

First Trust Nasdaq Food & Semicon

GF Fund CNI Semiconductor Chips ETF

Direxion Semicon Bull 3X

VanEck Semiconductor ETF

iShares Semiconductor ETF

ChinaAMC Guozheng Semiconductor Chip ETF

SPDR S&P Semicon

Invesco Semiconductors ETF

Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF

GTJA Allianz CSI All Share Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment ETF

GTJA Allianz SSE STAR Chip Design Thematic ETF

China Southern CSI Semiconductor Industry Custom ETF

Guotai CSI Semiconductor Material Equipment Theme ETF

The Hang Seng Index rose 109 points in the half-day session, AI chip stocks surged, and POP MART gained 6% after being named by Duan Yongping｜Hong Kong Stock Market Afternoon Session