The Hang Seng Index continues to rise with a turnover of HKD 221.2 billion, WuXi AppTec and casino stocks are up

Japan raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.75% as expected, reaching a nearly 30-year high. The yield on Japan's 10-year government bonds rose to 2.020%, the highest in 26 years. Following this, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that real interest rates are expected to remain low. Hong Kong stocks today (19th) fluctuated upwards. The Bank of England cut rates by 25 basis points to 3.75% as expected, while the European Central Bank kept rates unchanged as anticipated. The U.S. inflation rate unexpectedly dropped to 2.7% in November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% on the evening of the 18th, and the Nasdaq increased by 1.4%. At the time of writing, the yield on U.S. 2-year bonds rose to 3.467%, and the yield on U.S. 10-year bonds rose to 4.139%. The U.S. dollar index increased to 98.64. Dow futures rose by 21 points or 0.05%, and Nasdaq futures rose by 110 points or 0.44%. The Shanghai Composite Index rose by 14 points or 0.36%, closing at 3,890 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose by 0.7%. The total transaction amount in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets reached nearly 1.73 trillion yuan.

The Hang Seng Index rose today, opening 136 points higher and expanding its gains, reaching a peak of 25,747 points after rising 248 points in the afternoon. It closed up 192 points or nearly 0.8%, at 25,690 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose by 59 points or 0.7%, closing at 8,901 points. The Hang Seng Tech Index closed at 5,479 points, up 60 points or 1.1%. The quarterly review of the FTSE China Index Series will take effect after the market closes, with the total trading volume of Hong Kong stocks increasing by 36% to 221.186 billion yuan. The total trading volume of northbound trading was 75.413 billion yuan, while southbound funds had a net inflow of 3.371 billion yuan today (compared to a net inflow of 1.257 billion yuan the previous day). The stock prices of China Hongqiao (01378.HK), CATL (03750.HK) H shares, and Heng Rui Pharmaceutical (01276.HK) H shares, which were included in the FTSE China 50 Index, rose by 0.6%, 2.2%, and 0.1%, respectively.

The Hang Seng Index fell a total of 286 points or 1.1% this week, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 178 points or nearly 2%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 159 points or 2.8% this week. The market continues to focus on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts next year, the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes, and future paths.

【Market Trading Increases, WuXi AppTec Group Rises】

Foreign media reported that TikTok is forming a joint venture in the U.S. with Oracle (ORCL.US), while ByteDance retains its e-commerce and advertising business in the U.S. Technology stocks listed in Hong Kong performed well, with Alibaba-W (09988.HK) rising by 0.8%. Tencent (00700.HK), Meituan-W (03690.HK), and NetEase-S (09999.HK) rose by 1.3% to 1.5%, while Baidu-SW (09888.HK) and Kuaishou-W (01024.HK) each rose by 1% and nearly 1.5%. Automotive and related equipment stocks were favored, with XPeng-W (09868.HK) closing up 7.7% at 76.65 yuan, with a transaction volume of 2.473 billion yuan. Horizon-W (09660.HK) also rose by 7%, with a transaction volume of 2.908 billion yuan Leapmotor (09863.HK), Li Auto-W (02015.HK), and Nio-SW (09866.HK) rose by 5.7%, 3.8%, and 2.3% respectively. Hesai-W (02525.HK) jumped 4.6%.

WuXi Biologics (02269.HK) closed up 4.4%, making it the blue-chip stock with the largest increase; its affiliate WuXi AppTec (02359.HK) closed up 1.5%, and WuXi HeLian (02268.HK) rose 3%. JP Morgan released a report stating that although the mainland healthcare sector retreated from its highs in September and October due to the results of national medical insurance drug price negotiations and subsequent profit-taking, the bank believes the fundamentals of the industry remain unchanged. The recent weakness actually provides a good entry opportunity for 2026. Regarding the external authorization of innovative drugs, the bank believes the trend is sustainable, with multiple potential targets and drug forms already in place, expected to bring new authorization opportunities next year. The key global Phase III clinical data readings for these authorized assets will be crucial for market sentiment and are worth close attention. Additionally, the bank also believes that geopolitical concerns regarding China's pharmaceutical R&D outsourcing industry (CXO) have peaked, and it expects the Chinese medical policy environment to remain stable, continuing to support innovation, while a more moderate drug procurement policy will drive the recovery of the medical device and diagnostics sector.

【Over 1,300 Stocks Rise, Gaming Stocks in Demand】

The Hong Kong stock market is performing well, with a rise-to-fall ratio of 32 to 16 for main board stocks (compared to 19 to 28 the previous day). A total of 1,337 stocks rose (an increase of 2.5%), with 63 constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index rising and 24 falling, resulting in a rise-to-fall ratio of 71 to 27 (compared to 56 to 43 the previous day). The market recorded short selling of HKD 45.153 billion today, accounting for 22.19% of the total turnover of HKD 203.485 billion for shortable stocks.

With the Christmas holiday approaching, Macau media quoted Zhang Jianzhong, chairman of the Macau Tourism Association, predicting that the average hotel occupancy rate during this Christmas period could reach over 85%, remaining roughly stable or slightly higher compared to the same period last year. Gaming stocks are in demand, with the two major gaming blue-chip stocks, Galaxy Entertainment (00027.HK) and Sands China (01928.HK), rising by 2.9% and 2.7% respectively. MGM (02282.HK) surged at the end of the day, closing up 6.6%. SJM Holdings (00880.HK) and Melco International Development (00200.HK) rose by 2.9% and 3.4% respectively