Power stocks rose collectively. As of the time of writing, DATANG POWER (00991) increased by 3.74% to HK$3.05. CGN NEW ENERGY (01811) rose 2.95% to HK$2.79. HUANENG POWER (00902) gained 2.28%, trading at HK$6.74. CHINA RES POWER (00836) was up 2.1% at HK$20.46. HUADIAN POWER (01071) advanced 1.78% to HK$4.58.

The move follows news that U.S. utility giant NextEra Energy announced a deal to acquire Dominion Energy for $66.8 billion on Monday local time. This merger, occurring as data centers expand rapidly to support the artificial intelligence industry, is set to create one of the world's largest power utility companies. Its combined scale would far exceed the sum of the second and third largest power companies in the United States.

The merger represents a strategic move to capture the market opportunity created by surging power demand. Tech giants are heavily investing in data centers to develop and deploy AI technologies, leading to a sharp increase in electricity supply needs. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) statistics, U.S. electricity prices have risen by approximately 40% overall in the past five years. In popular data center hubs like Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, price increases reached double digits last year.

Morgan Stanley noted that capital expenditure forecasts for hyperscale cloud service providers for 2026 have been significantly revised upward from $450 billion to $800 billion, driven by a 350% surge in token demand. The firm projects that data centers will face an electricity supply gap of 55GW.