<p>The Federal Reserve maintained interest rates as expected by the market, but internal discussions about raising rates have begun. Additionally, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to drive oil prices higher. Asian stock markets closely followed the decline of U.S. stocks, with the Hong Kong stock market also opening lower and continuing to decline. The Hang Seng Index closed at 25,500 points, down 524 points, falling below the 26,000 mark and nearly giving back all of the 560 points gained over the previous three consecutive days. Market turnover increased to HKD 306.2 billion, returning to the HKD 300 billion level. However, significant inflows from northbound trading amounted to HKD 26.19 billion, supporting the market for the second consecutive day and marking the largest single-day inflow since the 9th of this month.</p><h2>Largest Single-Day Decline for the Hang Seng Index in Over Two Weeks</h2><p>After opening 475 points lower, the Hang Seng Index managed to narrow its losses to 288 points but then continued to decline, ultimately dropping as much as 576 points. It closed the day at 25,500 points, down 524 points, marking the largest single-day decline in over two weeks. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index closed at 8,695 points, down 139 points; the Tech Index closed at 4,996 points, down 112 points, falling below the 5,000 mark.</p><p>The performance of technology stocks weighed on the market. Tencent (700) reported fourth-quarter results that met expectations but indicated that funds would be allocated for AI investments, potentially reducing the scale of share buybacks. Tencent's stock price plummeted 6.8%, closing at HKD 513; Alibaba (9988) fell 4.1% before earnings, closing at HKD 132. These two stocks alone dragged the Hang Seng Index down by over 232 points. Additionally, Weibo (9898) reported an 8% decline in adjusted earnings, with its stock price dropping 12.4% to close at HKD 67.45; Kuaishou (1024) fell 6.2%, closing at HKD 55.35.</p><h2>&#34;Big Model Duos&#34; Both Drop Over 10%</h2><p>Furthermore, the &#34;big model duos&#34; also retreated, with MINIMAX (100) falling 13.9% to close at HKD 1,066; Zhiyuan (2513) plummeted 11.2% to close at HKD 659. However, Xiaomi (1810), which is about to launch a new car, rose against the trend by 3.4%, closing at HKD 36.32.</p><p>Gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals weakened as expectations for interest rate cuts cooled, leading to declines in related stocks. Zijin Mining (2899) dropped 7.1% to close at HKD 34.7, making it the worst-performing blue-chip stock; its affiliate Zijin Gold International (2259) fell 9.3% to close at HKD 166.9; China Hongqiao (1378) dropped 6.7% to close at HKD 34.78; and Luoyang Molybdenum (3993) fell 5.6% to close at HKD 17.56.</p><h2>Shandong Molong Rises Nearly 13%, CNOOC Up 4.5%</h2><p>Iran's latest warning to strike key energy facilities in three Middle Eastern countries has led Brent crude oil to once again surpass USD 110. Some oil and oil equipment stocks saw speculative trading against the trend, with CNOOC (883) rising 4.5% to close at HKD 29.58; PetroChina (857) up 2.4% to close at HKD 10.73; Shandong Molong (568) soaring 12.9% to close at HKD 11.81; and Bakin Oilfield Services (2178) rising 13.5% to close at HKD 0.295In terms of individual stocks, AIA (1299) reported results last year that met expectations, but still fell 2.1% after earnings, closing at HKD 82.8; XuanZhu Bio (2575) recently received approval for its primary indication of Pirfenidone tablets, with the stock price rising 16.1%, closing at HKD 49.84; China COSCO Shipping Ports (1199) earned 1.1% more last year, but reduced its dividend by 28%, causing the stock price to drop 11.1%, closing at HKD 5.59; the placement agents CICC and Huatai International plan to withdraw from the new share subscription agreement between HeiZhiMa Intelligent (2533) and Wuji Capital, leading to a 5.9% drop in HeiZhiMa Intelligent, closing at HKD 18.03.</p><p>———</p><p>At 1230: Oil prices surged along with the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance, causing the Hang Seng Index to drop 522 points this morning, hitting a low of 25,502 points. It closed at 25,592 points, down 432 points or 1.66%, with a turnover of HKD 153.528 billion.</p><p>Tencent (700) fell 6.4% after earnings, hitting a low of HKD 515; it closed at HKD 518, down 5.9%. Alibaba (9988) dropped 3.41%, closing at HKD 133; Meituan (3690) remained stable, rising 0.68%. MINIMAX (100) retraced 11.79% in half a day, while ZhiPu (2513) fell 8.28%. Xiaomi (1810) will hold a new generation SU7 launch event tonight, rising 4.26% in half a day.</p><p>Iran and Israel have launched strikes against each other's key energy facilities in the Middle East, with Brent crude oil prices again surpassing USD 110, reaching a high of USD 112.86. CNOOC (883) rose 3.39%; PetroChina (857) rose 1.14%.</p><p>———</p><p>At 0930: The U.S. Federal Reserve maintained interest rates as expected and mentioned that the impact of changes in the Middle East on the U.S. economy remains unclear, predicting only a 0.25 percentage point rate cut by the end of this year; at the same time, Fed Chairman Powell stated at a press conference that there would be no rate cuts if there is no progress on inflation.</p><h2>Market Concerns Over Micron's Increased Capital Expenditure</h2><p>U.S. stocks ended a two-day rally on Wednesday, with all three major indices declining. The Dow closed down 768 points or 1.63%, at 46,225 points; the S&amp;P 500 fell 91 points or 1.36%, at 6,624 points; the Nasdaq dropped 327 points or 1.46%, at 22,152 points. The Golden Dragon Index, which reflects the performance of Chinese concept stocks, fell 2.06% to 7,015 points on Wednesday. Additionally, under the hawkish expectations of the Federal Reserve, gold prices were also sold off, with spot gold closing down 3.7% at USD 4,818; it saw a slight rebound this morning, rising about 0.5% to USD 4,841.</p><p>Among the focus stocks, Micron Technology (MU) announced a 196% increase in revenue for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 to USD 23.86 billion, exceeding expectations; adjusted net profit surged 686% to USD 14.021 billion; the revenue guidance for the third quarter was over 50% higher than analysts' expectations, and the EPS guidance was nearly 70% higher than expected. However, the market is concerned about Micron's significant increase in capital expenditure, with full-year capital spending revised up to over USD 25 billion, and further increases expected in fiscal year 2027The stock fell sharply over 4% after hours to $441.28.</p><h2>Tencent Invests in AI, Reduces Buyback Scale</h2><p>In the Hong Kong stock market, the Hang Seng Index opened down 474 points this morning, reporting 25,550 points. Tech stocks were generally under pressure, with Tencent (700) indicating after its earnings report that funds would be used for AI investments, potentially reducing the scale of buybacks. The stock opened at HKD 528, down 4%; as for Alibaba (9988), which will report earnings today, its stock also fell 3.6%; Meituan (3690) dropped 2%; JD.com (9618) fell 2.5%; while Xiaomi (1810) rose 2.6% against the trend.</p><p>Yesterday's sharp risers MINIMAX (100) and Zhipu (2513) also saw a pullback, with both opening down 5% and 4.4%, respectively.</p><h2>AIA's New Business Value Rises 15% Year-on-Year</h2><p>Additionally, AIA (1299) announced its performance for last year, with new business value rising 15% year-on-year to a record high of USD 5.516 billion at constant exchange rates. The final dividend increased by 10% to HKD 1.4408. According to the capital management policy, the board has approved a new round of USD 1.7 billion share buybacks. However, the stock opened at HKD 81.5, down 3.6%.</p><h2>Kaisa Health Acquires Qinghai Pharmaceutical, Enters Anesthesia and Psychotropic Drug Field</h2><p>Kaisa Health Group (876) opened up 2.5% this morning, as the company officially announced yesterday (18th) the acquisition of a controlling stake in Qinghai Pharmaceutical, expected to complete all deliveries by late May. Market participants pointed out that this transaction means the group is officially entering the highly regulated field of manufacturing anesthetics and psychotropic drugs, further extending its industrial chain layout. Kaisa Health stated that it would acquire Qinghai Pharmaceutical from its parent company Kaisa Group (1638) for RMB 21.6 million, with payment made in shares. Kaisa Health will first conduct a &#34;50-for-1&#34; share consolidation and adjust the trading unit from 10,000 shares to 2,000 shares. After the consolidation, Kaisa Health will issue nearly 2.79 million shares at HKD 8.75 per share to Kaisa Group, accounting for 2.69% of the expanded share capital. After the transaction is completed, Kaisa Group's stake in Kaisa Health will increase from 42.99% to 44.52%.</p><p>Related article: Kaisa Health Acquires Qinghai Pharmaceutical, Enters Anesthesia and Psychotropic Drug Field</p><h2>Oil Stocks Rise, Gold Stocks Fall</h2><p>On the other hand, Iran and Israel have launched strikes against key energy facilities in the Middle East, stimulating oil prices upward, with Brent crude oil approaching USD 110 again, boosting oil-related stocks. CNOOC (883) rose 2.5%; PetroChina (883) rose 0.6%; Shandong Molong (568) rose 15%; and Bakin Oilfield Services (2178) rose over 13%.</p><p>Gold-related stocks fell, with ZIJIN GOLD INTL (2259) down 4.8%; ZIJIN MINING (2899) down 4.6%; Zhaojin (1818) down 4.7%; and Shandong Gold (1787) also down 4.7%.</p><p>Regarding the northbound capital flow, there was a net purchase of HKD 1.217 billion in Hong Kong stocks yesterday, with Alibaba (9988), Xiaomi (1810), and Chongqing Longxin Optical Fiber (6869) receiving net purchases of HKD 1.536 billion, HKD 565 million, and HKD 146 million, respectively;SMIC (981), Tencent (700), and Yau Choy (1428) were net sold for HKD 774 million, HKD 296 million, and HKD 145 million, respectively</p>

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<p>The Hang Seng Index fell 524 points, closing at 25,500 points, marking the largest single-day drop in over two weeks. The turnover reached HKD 306.2 billion, with northbound capital inflow of HKD 26.19 billion. Technology stocks performed poorly, with Tencent down 6.8% to HKD 513, and Alibaba down 4.1% to HKD 132. The National Index closed at 8,695 points, down 139 points; the Tech Index closed at 4,996 points, down 112 points. Precious metal stocks also retreated, with ZIJIN MINING down 7.1%</p>

- The Federal Reserve maintained interest rates unchanged, but discussions of potential rate hikes emerged amid rising oil prices due to ongoing Middle Eastern conflicts.  
- Asian markets followed the downward trend of U.S. stocks, with the Hang Seng Index closing at 25,500 points, down 524 points, marking its largest drop in over two weeks.  
- Despite significant capital inflow supporting the market, major tech stocks like Tencent and Alibaba faced declines, impacting the overall market sentiment negatively.

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The Hang Seng Index fell 524 points with a turnover of HKD 306.2 billion. Tencent dropped 6.8% and Alibaba fell 4% before earnings｜Hong Kong stock market closing