[ET Net News Agency, 24 April 2026] Tensions in the Middle East have intensified as Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has forcefully intervened, sidelining moderates and demanding a refusal to compromise until the US fully lifts its blockade. Simultaneously, air defence systems were activated in Tehran to prevent small drones, appearing to prepare for potential US attacks. Meanwhile, the US continues its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with US President Trump ordering the Navy to fire on Iranian minelaying vessels. As both sides remain on the brink of conflict, global stock markets generally softened. The HSI closed the midday session at 25,862, down 52 points or 0.2%, with main board turnover approaching HKD 126.1 billion. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index stood at 8,741, up 8 points or less than 0.1%. The Hang Seng Tech Index reached 4,882, up 17 points or 0.4%.
"Kingston Lin: Iran passive while US prefers peace; weekend conflict unlikely; AI speculation offsets negative oil price impact"
According to latest reports from Israeli media, Ghalibaf, the chief negotiator representing Iran in talks with the US, has resigned, seen as a major signal of a setback for moderates. Market concerns that an accidental conflict might occur during the extension of the ceasefire agreement have pushed oil prices higher, weighing on global market conditions. Hong Kong stocks remained under pressure during the early morning session, but found clear support after dropping below the 20 day line, with the midday decline narrowing to less than 100 points. Kingston Lin, a director of the Hong Kong Institute of Financial Analysts and Professional Commentators Limited, told ET Net News Agency that he does not believe the situation in Iran will deteriorate sharply this weekend. He noted that US President Trump leans towards peace negotiations, and with Trump's visit to Mainland China approaching in May, a resumption of fire would be detrimental to his itinerary; therefore, the chance of the US initiating fire is not great. Meanwhile, he believes Iran is in a passive position and may conduct actions such as intercepting vessels, but will not relaunch bombings at this time. He expects the situation to remain in a stalemate in the short term.
Affected by war expectations, oil prices have recently regained upward momentum, breaking through the downward channel. Kingston Lin admitted that oil prices may rebound in the short term, but he believes the market is beginning to gradually decouple from the impact of oil prices. This is because recent market focus has been on AI and related chip developments. He expects the influence of oil prices to decrease temporarily; even if oil prices rise slowly, the stock market is expected to move away from the impact by riding the AI craze.
"Kingsoft Cloud highly dependent on Xiaomi; slow AI development of Xiaomi drags both down"
The "Lei Jun affiliated" Kingsoft Cloud (03896) recently announced that due to higher than expected demand from Xiaomi (01810) in innovative businesses such as AI and smart electric vehicles, the company will raise its annual caps for services to Xiaomi. The annual cap for cloud services will increase from RMB 3.138 billion to RMB 4 billion this year, and significantly rise by nearly 50% from RMB 40.35 billion to RMB 6 billion next year. However, the share price of Kingsoft Cloud fell instead of rising. The market interpreted this as an increased degree of dependence on Xiaomi, meaning subsequent development will rely entirely on Xiaomi's AI progress. Kingston Lin analysed that since Kingsoft Cloud and Xiaomi are both "Lei Jun affiliated", they will inevitably cooperate more. If Kingsoft Cloud increases its reliance on Xiaomi, Xiaomi's AI development becomes even more pivotal for Kingsoft Cloud. Although Xiaomi has successively launched AI large model trials and its AI leader Luo Fuli appeared for endorsement, there has been no highlight for the market to speculate on so far. Therefore, Kingsoft Cloud's high profile move to increase cooperation with Xiaomi has achieved half the result with twice the effort.
Kingston Lin continued that as Xiaomi's AI development has been lagging, Kingsoft Cloud's official announcement to strengthen cooperation has led the market to reflect on whether Kingsoft Cloud's current valuation is too high. Kingsoft Cloud rose as much as 40% this month to a high of HKD 9.75. After such a large cumulative gain, it is not surprising to see a pullback on this news. The share price has now fallen below the 10 day line; if the 20 day line is not held, it may face a deeper adjustment. Consequently, he suggests that expectations for Kingsoft Cloud's share price performance should not be too high until there is a major breakthrough in Xiaomi's AI development.
"Kingston Lin: Iran passive while US prefers peace; weekend conflict unlikely; AI speculation offsets negative oil price impact"
According to latest reports from Israeli media, Ghalibaf, the chief negotiator representing Iran in talks with the US, has resigned, seen as a major signal of a setback for moderates. Market concerns that an accidental conflict might occur during the extension of the ceasefire agreement have pushed oil prices higher, weighing on global market conditions. Hong Kong stocks remained under pressure during the early morning session, but found clear support after dropping below the 20 day line, with the midday decline narrowing to less than 100 points. Kingston Lin, a director of the Hong Kong Institute of Financial Analysts and Professional Commentators Limited, told ET Net News Agency that he does not believe the situation in Iran will deteriorate sharply this weekend. He noted that US President Trump leans towards peace negotiations, and with Trump's visit to Mainland China approaching in May, a resumption of fire would be detrimental to his itinerary; therefore, the chance of the US initiating fire is not great. Meanwhile, he believes Iran is in a passive position and may conduct actions such as intercepting vessels, but will not relaunch bombings at this time. He expects the situation to remain in a stalemate in the short term.
Affected by war expectations, oil prices have recently regained upward momentum, breaking through the downward channel. Kingston Lin admitted that oil prices may rebound in the short term, but he believes the market is beginning to gradually decouple from the impact of oil prices. This is because recent market focus has been on AI and related chip developments. He expects the influence of oil prices to decrease temporarily; even if oil prices rise slowly, the stock market is expected to move away from the impact by riding the AI craze.
"Kingsoft Cloud highly dependent on Xiaomi; slow AI development of Xiaomi drags both down"
The "Lei Jun affiliated" Kingsoft Cloud (03896) recently announced that due to higher than expected demand from Xiaomi (01810) in innovative businesses such as AI and smart electric vehicles, the company will raise its annual caps for services to Xiaomi. The annual cap for cloud services will increase from RMB 3.138 billion to RMB 4 billion this year, and significantly rise by nearly 50% from RMB 40.35 billion to RMB 6 billion next year. However, the share price of Kingsoft Cloud fell instead of rising. The market interpreted this as an increased degree of dependence on Xiaomi, meaning subsequent development will rely entirely on Xiaomi's AI progress. Kingston Lin analysed that since Kingsoft Cloud and Xiaomi are both "Lei Jun affiliated", they will inevitably cooperate more. If Kingsoft Cloud increases its reliance on Xiaomi, Xiaomi's AI development becomes even more pivotal for Kingsoft Cloud. Although Xiaomi has successively launched AI large model trials and its AI leader Luo Fuli appeared for endorsement, there has been no highlight for the market to speculate on so far. Therefore, Kingsoft Cloud's high profile move to increase cooperation with Xiaomi has achieved half the result with twice the effort.
Kingston Lin continued that as Xiaomi's AI development has been lagging, Kingsoft Cloud's official announcement to strengthen cooperation has led the market to reflect on whether Kingsoft Cloud's current valuation is too high. Kingsoft Cloud rose as much as 40% this month to a high of HKD 9.75. After such a large cumulative gain, it is not surprising to see a pullback on this news. The share price has now fallen below the 10 day line; if the 20 day line is not held, it may face a deeper adjustment. Consequently, he suggests that expectations for Kingsoft Cloud's share price performance should not be too high until there is a major breakthrough in Xiaomi's AI development.
