- The Hang Seng Index fell 544 pts or 2.09 % to close at 25,465 at midday, driven by widespread declines across major technology and chip stocks.
- BABA-W plunged 9.76 % after planning a new share placement to raise HKD80 billion, while AI large model stocks faced heavy pressure following DeepSeek's API price adjustments.
- Chip stocks experienced sharp sell-offs, with SMIC plummeting 6.62 % and HUA HONG GRACE tumbling 5.23 %.
- At midday, the three major A-share indices fell between 0.7% and 3.5%, while the PBOC conducted RMB 340 billion of seven-day reverse repos for a net injection of RMB 340 billion.
- Mainland bank and insurance stocks stayed firm with gains across major institutions, whereas chip, AI, and optical module stocks generally declined despite strong interim results from some firms.
- YUSHU TECHNOLOGY slumped 9.8% to a total market capitalization of RMB 245.283 billion amid the opening of the second World Humanoid Robot Games 2026 in Beijing.
- At the midday close, the Hang Seng Index dropped 544 points or 2.1% to 25,465, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 183 points or 3.8% to 4,582.
- Major heavyweights recorded significant declines, with BABA down over 9%, XIAOMI down over 4%, and TENCENT down over 3%.
- Other index constituents also faced downward pressure, though selective stocks like PING AN and SINOPEC CORP posted modest gains.
- The PBOC conducted RMB 340 billion of 7-day reverse repo operations, leading to a net injection of RMB 340 billion as the RMB central parity rate against the USD was set at 6.7841.
- The three major A-share indices opened mixed, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 2 pts at 3,902, the Shenzhen Component Index up 23 pts at 14,118, and the ChiNext Index up 4 pts at 3,550.
- Chinese bank and insurer stocks generally opened soft, while major tech, chip, and optical module stocks experienced varied trading performances alongside YUSHU TECHNOLOGY slumping nearly 5%.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing International received a Buy rating from China Renaissance with a price target of HK$ 142.00.
- DBS also issued a Buy rating for the company in a report on August 18.
- Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan maintained a Hold rating on the stock on August 16.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation announced that its board of directors will convene on Aug. 27, 2026.
- The meeting's primary agenda is to consider and approve the publication of the company's unaudited interim financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2026.
- The regulatory disclosure was officially submitted via the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's IIS system on Aug. 19, 2026.
- DBS reported that SMIC's 2Q revenue reached USD 3.01 billion, up 36% year-on-year, while gross margin significantly beat market expectations at 25.3%.
- Management projected 3Q revenue growth of 2% to 4% quarter-on-quarter and guided gross margin to be between 26% and 28%.
- Following these results, DBS raised SMIC's earnings forecasts for 2026 to 2028 by 13.4% to 16.5% and lifted its target price to HKD 96.