Follow-up on the evening of August 4 | Hong Kong stocks opened high and fell low in the daytime session; Chinese concept stocks are weak in the US pre-market tonight

Hong Kong stocks closed today; the Hang Seng Index closed at 25,852, down 156 points or 0.6%, losing the 26,000 mark. The Hang Seng Tech Index rose counter-trend by 10 points or 0.21%, closing at 4,885. Total market turnover was approximately HKD 257.8 billion.

Hong Kong stocks opened high and moved lower today—early on, driven by strong US stock performance overnight, the Hang Seng Index briefly reached a two-and-a-half-month high of 26,187, but before noon, central state-owned enterprise valuation concepts and domestic demand sectors faced selling pressure, causing the broader market to close in the red.

Performance of key tech stocks today:

Alibaba (9988) rose 0.48% for the day, closing at HKD 125.8. Overnight, US-listed BABA surged 4.13%. Alibaba HK opened higher by 1.4% to HKD 126.9 this morning, but the upside narrowed significantly at the close, with limited momentum chasing the premium.

Tencent (0700) fell 0.57% for the day, closing at HKD 487.6. Compared to Tencent's ADR which was 0.07% higher than the HK stock overnight, equivalent to HKD 490.8—the ADR premium was nearly flat, and the HK stock followed the ADR's direction.

Meituan (3690) fell 0.8% for the day, closing at HKD 92.7. Meituan's ADR was 0.48% lower than the HK stock overnight, equivalent to HKD 93.0, with a slight discount premium; the HK stock also declined accordingly.

Xiaomi (1810) closed flat. Compared to Xiaomi's ADR which was 0.32% lower than the HK stock overnight, pricing between the two markets was largely consistent.

Arbitrage Perspective:

There is a subtle point in today's Hong Kong market trend: the Nasdaq surged 2.13% overnight and the Dow hit a new high, so logically Hong Kong stocks should have risen. However, after the Hang Seng Index rose for 6 consecutive days accumulating gains of 1,046 points, profit-taking pressure at high levels was obvious. The sharp drop in central state-owned enterprises and domestic banking sectors offset the gains in tech stocks.

More importantly, sector divergence occurred—WuXi AppTec surged 11%, Zhongji Innolight jumped 17% to a new high, and chip stocks rallied broadly. Capital clearly shifted from traditional financial stocks to biopharma and hard technology. This 'seesaw effect' is worth noting: tech stocks and ADRs rose but with narrowing gains, and the premium was digested in one day.

Outlook for tonight's US night trading:

Most Chinese concept stocks in the US pre-market are down—Alibaba up 0.6%, JD.com down 0.6%, Li Auto down 2%, Pinduoduo down 1%.

Today, Hong Kong tech stocks and ADRs generally moved in tandem, with no significant widening in the premium gap. However, if Chinese concept stocks remain weak in the pre-market, watch whether the official US market open tonight will drag down the ADR converted price. For those holding positions overnight, calculate this potential risk carefully.