With Northbound Water suspended, the market turnover was just over HK$100 billion for the day. Despite the Hang Seng Index sharply narrowing its losses and recovering to above 24,500 on the daily chart, forming a long lower shadow, theoretically indicating support, the significantly reduced turnover today diminishes the reliability of this bullish signal. Therefore, further confirmation from subsequent market movements and the Northbound Water flow during the three trading days before National Day next week is needed to determine the market direction.
*Tech stocks remain weak, while some pharmaceutical stocks show strength against the market trend*
Rising bond yields continued to drag down tech stocks: Xiaomi (01810) fell 2.56% to HK$25.90, Alibaba (09988) dropped 1.45% to HK$108.40, Kuaishou (01024) declined 1.57% to HK$30.02, Baidu (09888) fell 1.16% to HK$85.30, Meituan (03690) dipped 0.83% to HK$71.65, while Tencent (00700) softened 0.41% to HK$436.60.
The four major mainland banks, which provided support yesterday, fell today as Northbound Water halted: ICBC (01398) dropped 1.89% to HK$7.515, CCB (00939) fell 1.5% to HK$9.535, ABC (01288) declined 1.44% to HK$6.515, and BOC (03988) softened 0.99% to HK$5.98.
Some biotech stocks rebounded and outperformed the market: WuXi Biologics (02269) rose 2.1% to HK$53.00; WuXi AppTec (02359) gained 2.2% to HK$209.60; BeiGene (06160) advanced 0.6% to HK$216.40. However, Innovent Biologics (01801) fell 0.1% to HK$99.70; China Biologic Products (01177) dropped 0.4% to HK$5.57; CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (01093) declined 0.1% to HK$9.33.
*Chow Tai Fook Creation enhances shareholder returns, attractive for medium-to-long term accumulation*
Chow Tai Fook Creation (00659) announced a net profit of HK$2.393 billion for the full year ended June this year, up 10.7% year-on-year, with a final dividend of 33 cents per share, an 18% increase year-on-year. It also proposed issuing bonus shares on the basis of one bonus share for every ten shares held, marking the second consecutive year of issuing bonus shares in its final results. Mr. Cheng Chi Ming, Executive Director and Group Co-CEO of Chow Tai Fook Creation, stated that the company aims to "pay more when earning more." Issuing bonus shares considers share liquidity and provides shareholders with additional trading opportunities, and the company will continue its dividend policy.
Nowadays, very few stocks in the Hong Kong market regularly issue bonus shares. Chow Tai Fook Creation doing so for two consecutive years is extremely rare, greatly enhancing its attractiveness to investors. In terms of stock price movement, after the announcement of the bonus shares, Chow Tai Fook Creation's stock price gapped up 6% today, forming a breakout from a triangle pattern that had been consolidating since the beginning of the year. The outlook suggests further upside potential. Aggressive investors could consider entering at current levels, while more cautious investors may wait for a pullback near HK$8.20 to accumulate positions for medium-to-long term holding. (lc)