Hong Kong Stock Market Close | Technology Index cumulative decline of 9% in March, airline and gold stocks lead the market’s downturn

Caixin News Agency March 31 (Editor Hu Jiarong) This month’s Hong Kong stock market experienced a notable pullback overall. The index traded in a range and weakened, volatility increased, and market sentiment remained persistently low. As of today’s close, the Hang Seng Index fell 6.92% for the month, closing at 24,788.14 points; the Tech Index fell 9.50% for the month, closing at 4,649.82 points; and the China Enterprises Index fell 5.48% for the month, closing at 8,374.30 points.

Note: The performance of the Hang Seng Index this month

Note: The performance of the Tech Index this month

Judging from the performance across the whole month, the weakness in the Hong Kong stock market is related to multiple factors, including disruptions from the geopolitical situation, a shift in expectations for Federal Reserve policy, pressure on liquidity, and the looming peak of share buyback/restriction expirations. The market’s performance for the whole month can be divided into three clear stages:

Early to mid-month: Persistent pressure under multiple headwinds

With multiple factors weighing on it—disruptions from the Middle East geopolitical situation and a sharp cooling of expectations for Fed rate cuts—the large-cap market broadly maintained a weak, choppy pattern. During this period, although there were three index-level rebounds on March 6, 10, and 16, they failed to reverse the downward trend, and trading sentiment remained cautious.

Early in the lower half of the month: Oversold rebound after an extreme selloff

On March 23, Hong Kong stocks saw the largest pullback within the month. The Hang Seng Index fell 3.54% on the day, and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 3.28%, marking the stage low point of this round of correction. Afterwards, the market saw an oversold rebound. On March 24 and 25, the Hang Seng Index rebounded 2.79% and 1.09%, respectively, while the Hang Seng Tech Index also rebounded 2.51% and 1.91%, respectively, and bearish sentiment cooled temporarily.

Month-end: The rebound loses steam and the market weakens again, finishing down for the month

The rebound failed to sustain. On March 26 and 30, the three major indices once again closed lower collectively. Among them, on March 26, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.89% and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 3.28%, and market sentiment at month-end returned to caution.

It is worth noting that during the market’s sharp pullback, southbound capital continued to step in against the trend. For the month, the cumulative net inflow exceeded HK$60 billion. Among them, constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Tech Index such as Tencent Holdings, Xiaomi Group, and Meituan were highly favored by southbound capital, becoming core targets for net inflows.

AI and energy outperform on a relative basis

From this month’s market performance, Xunshi(03317.HK), Fourier(02325.HK), Jishi Vision(06636.HK), and Yancoal Australia(03668.HK) led the gainers, while China Eastern Airlines(00670.HK), Zhufeng Gold(01815.HK), Air China(00753.HK), Kuaishou-W(01024.HK), and Zijin Mining(02899.HK) led the decliners.

Xunshi’s stock rose 118.25% cumulatively this month. Its performance beating expectations is the key catalyst. The company reported revenue of RMB 1.29B in 2025, up 103.3% year over year. Of this, second-half revenue jumped to RMB 1.09B, up 449.32% quarter over quarter, marking the first time it achieved an adjusted profit for the first half of the year. The performance inflection point and the growth acceleration far exceeded market expectations.

At the same time, the industry boom in AI data services continued to surge. According to data from the National Data Bureau, China’s daily average Token calls for AI large models jumped from 100 billion at the beginning of 2024 to 140 trillion in March 2026. As an AI data services provider, Xunshi directly benefited from the industry dividend, and after the results announcement, it further boosted sentiment in the sector, driving trading interest higher.

As new listings, Fourier and Jishi Vision were listed recently and were highly sought after by investors. They rose cumulatively by 100% and 80%, respectively. Taking Fourier as an example, the company received 3,118.43 times oversubscription in the public offering and 2.93 times subscription in the international offering. Retail and institutional investors showed strong demand to snap up shares. On the first day of listing, the stock opened more than 112.63% above its offer price. The first-day performance of Jishi Vision is also worth watching: it closed up 113.62% on its first day.

Yancoal Australia rose 36.60% cumulatively this month. On the news side, rising energy prices brought earnings upside. Geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East escalated, causing shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a sharp spike in crude oil and natural gas prices. Demand for substituting oil with coal and gas with coal surged globally, and international thermal coal prices entered an upward cycle. In addition, several foreign brokerage firms released research reports expressing optimism about Yancoal Australia’s ability to realize earnings in this energy cycle. Coupled with its high dividend characteristics, it became a core allocation target for risk-averse capital, driving a significant month-on-month jump in the share price.

China Eastern Airlines and Air China fell 37.12% and 32.70%, respectively, cumulatively this month. On the news side, the escalation of Middle East geopolitical conflict pushed Brent crude oil prices above $110 per barrel. Fuel costs account for 30%-40% of airlines’ total costs. For every $10 increase in oil prices, airlines’ net profits shrink by about 15%-20%. Although airlines raised fuel surcharges, there is a lag in cost pass-through, so they could not cover the sharply increased fuel expenditure, leading to a substantial downward revision of profit expectations.

Zhufeng Gold and Zijin Mining fell 36.81% and 23.64%, respectively, cumulatively this month. On the news side, London spot gold prices fell nearly 4% at one point in a single day in March, hitting a new low since early January. Compared with the historical high point earlier this year, gold had pulled back by more than 22%. Gold-mining stocks are highly correlated with gold prices, and the whole sector faced pressure as gold plunged sharply. The logic of gold pricing reversed: Middle East conflict boosted oil prices, leading to a rebound in inflation expectations; market expectations for Fed rate cuts cooled sharply, and even concerns about rate hikes appeared. As a result, the appeal of non-yielding gold assets declined significantly. In addition, according to the World Gold Council, global central banks slowed their pace of gold buying, weakening core demand and further suppressing gold prices.

Kuaishou fell 28.21% cumulatively this month. The company released its 2025 Q4 and full-year financial reports. In 2025Q4, e-commerce GMV grew year over year by only 12.9%, showing a cliff-like drop compared with the previously high growth rate. Meanwhile, the company announced that it would stop disclosing quarterly/annual GMV. The market interpreted this as the end of the core growth story. After the financial report release, multiple foreign institutions such as Nomura significantly cut their target prices and ratings. The proportion of short positions in individual stocks increased materially, and concentrated selling by investors led to a large drop in the share price during the month.

Institutional key viewpoints and outlook

CICC believes that late March is a key window for Hong Kong stocks to have “bad news already priced in.” The share restriction expirations peak in the first half ended in March, and the scale of expirations in the second quarter is expected to fall significantly. By the end of March, the 2025 annual reports for major internet and Hang Seng Tech constituent stocks would be basically disclosed, and the suppression from uncertainty in performance will be removed. Combined with geopolitical disruptions gradually being digested, Hong Kong stocks are expected to enter a repair window. It suggests focusing on the Hang Seng Tech and Hong Kong Stock Connect internet sectors.

Haitong Securities emphasized that the 2026 Hong Kong stock market will shift from being driven by “valuation repair” to “improvement in fundamentals.” A one-way beta market may be difficult to repeat, and structural opportunities will become the main theme throughout the year’s market.

Ping An Asset Management stated that high volatility in the 2026 Hong Kong stock market will become the norm. A one-way upswing driven purely by beta at the later stage will be difficult to replicate. Future investments should focus on stocks with strong fundamental certainty and clear ability to realize earnings.

Today’s market

Although the Hong Kong stock market saw a significant pullback over the month, the three major indices showed divergent performances on the closing day. As of the close, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.15%, the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.86%, and the China Enterprises Index fell 0.30%.

Looking at specifics, the home appliances and pharma CXO sectors strengthened against the trend, while storage concept stocks and optical communication stocks performed weakly.

Home appliance stocks rose against the trend

As of the close, Midea Group(00300.HK) rose 6.82%, TCL Electronics(01071.HK) rose 3.07%, and JS Global Lifestyle(01691.HK) rose 2.96%.

On the news side, Midea Group released its full-year results for the year ended December 31, 2025. Group revenue was RMB 1.4M, up 12.1%; profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 458.5B, up 14%; and basic earnings per share were RMB 5.8. The company’s performance exceeded market expectations.

Pharmaceutical stocks also moved higher in tandem

As of the close, Asymchem(06821.HK) rose 13.54%, Wuxi Biologics(02269.HK) rose 5.29%, and WuXi AppTec(02359.HK) rose 2.98%.

The Zhejiang pharmaceutical team analysis pointed out that with the CXO industry continuing to clear out and the stocks trading at relatively low levels, the team is optimistic about bottoming investment opportunities in domestic leading CDMO companies and CRO companies that benefit from a domestic demand recovery. Based on analysis of financials, demand, and supply data, the institution believes that the fundamental inflection point for CXO has already appeared and is expected to continue to recover.

Storage concept stocks fell across the board

As of the close, GalaxyCore(03986.HK) fell 8.34% and L S TECH(06809.HK) fell 6.72%.

In the market, since last week, spot prices for DDR5 memory modules have shown clear easing. Taking mainstream 32GB DDR5 memory modules as an example, market quotes were generally around RMB 3,000 per stick last week, whereas this week quotes have been sharply cut, with declines ranging from RMB 500 to RMB 1,050. Some merchants revealed that they had already cleared some inventory at RMB 2,500 per stick. In more extreme cases, they even offered “clearance” prices of RMB 1,950 per stick, indicating tight sentiment at the channel level. For the direction of the market going forward, surveyed merchants expressed different views. Some believe prices still have room to move lower, so they choose to ship inventory early.

Optical communication stocks weakened as a group

As of the close, Cambridge Technology(06166.HK) fell 9.76%, Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable(06869.HK) fell 7.11%, and Hubble Technology(01729.HK) fell 3.38%.

On the news side, optical communication stocks weakened due to profit-taking by some funds, and their performance remained weak throughout the day. However, Cambridge Technology recently disclosed its 2025 annual report: during the reporting period, the company achieved revenue of RMB 4.82B, up 32.07%; net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 263 million, up 58.08%; and non-GAAP net profit was RMB 259 million, up 71.09%.

Oil and gas and oilfield equipment stocks weakened

As of the close, PetroChina International(00346.HK) fell 5.38%, CNOOC(0883.HK) fell 3.11%, and Kunlun Energy(00135.HK) fell 2.32%.

At the same time, oil and gas equipment stocks also declined. As of the close, Shandong Molong(00568.HK) fell 14.62%, Beston Oilfield Services(02178.HK) fell 11.76%, and Shengli Pipeline(01080.HK) fell 9.41%.

CITIC Jianyin Futures released a research report stating that the market has been debating expectations for a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran recently. Looking ahead, the Strait of Hormuz remains the core driver of marginal price fluctuations in oil prices. In the short term, oil prices have not fully priced in the potential stoppage of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. If the strait closure persists, oil prices will still rise further. In the longer term, even if navigation resumes through the strait, the risk premium will remain defined in oil prices for a long time, and oil prices will still stay at high levels.

Notable moves in individual stocks

Yunding Digital Enterprise: plunges more than 28% after earnings; full-year revenue falls more than 10%

Yunding Digital Enterprise(00596.HK) fell 28.29%, to HK$2.18. On the news side, last year’s revenue was RMB 7.31B, down 10.9% year over year. Profit attributable to owners was RMB 237.5 million, down 38.3% year over year. The company’s profit attributable to owners declined from last year, mainly because operating profit of the management software business segment fell compared with the same period last year. The company announced that it plans to repurchase shares of no more than HK$100 million.

Copper Master: falls nearly 50% on debut; net profit down nearly 22% year over year last year

Copper Master(00664.HK) fell 49.17%, to HK$30.50. On the news side, the prospectus shows that from 2022 to 2024, the company’s revenue was RMB 503 million, RMB 506 million, and RMB 571 million, respectively, with slow growth. Meanwhile, net profit was RMB 56.94M, RMB 44.131 million, and RMB 44.13M, respectively. Entering 2025, the company even saw a situation described as “higher revenue but not higher profits”: in the first three quarters, revenue grew 11.26% year over year, but profit fell by nearly 22% year over year.

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