Mainland China's three major stock indexes opened higher and climbed across the board on Tuesday morning, while Hong Kong's benchmark indices also advanced more than 1%, fueled by a sharp rally in biotech and pharmaceutical stocks. The surge followed news that Moderna's first mRNA personalized cancer vaccine succeeded in Phase 3 trials, which ignited enthusiasm for innovative drug developers. Additionally, the U.S. Treasury unexpectedly announced it would at least double the scale of long-term bond buybacks, causing the 30-year Treasury yield to plunge more than 9 basis points, the largest one-day drop since October. The U.S. dollar index fell below the 99 mark to a three-month low, and international spot gold broke through $4,500, boosting precious metals-related shares.
As of the latest trading update, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.68%, the Shenzhen Component Index gained 1.15%, and the ChiNext Index advanced 1.17%. The biotech sector led gains, with innovation drugs, vaccines, CRO, and medical services stocks triggering a wave of limit-up moves. Precious metals stocks also performed strongly, while electronic components and chemical fiber sectors gained. Semiconductor silicon wafer concepts corrected, and agricultural stocks retreated.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.93% and the Hang Seng Tech Index added 1.29%, with both benchmarks up more than 1% intraday. The Hang Seng Biotech Index soared over 7%, driving pharmaceutical shares sharply higher. Internet and tech stocks mostly rebounded, with Tencent, Alibaba, JD.com, and Xiaomi all trading higher, while Kuaishou bucked the trend with a decline of more than 10%. Memory chip-related names were active. In the bond market, treasury bond futures fell across the board. In commodities, most domestic futures contracts traded higher.
The biopharmaceutical sector continued its strong run intraday, with vaccines, cellular immunity, recombinant proteins, and gene editing themes all showing notable gains. Nearly 20 stocks, including CSPC Innovation, Porton Pharma Solutions, Genechem, CanSino Biologics, Biovenic, and MGI Tech, hit the 20% limit-up. Many others, such as Senxuan Pharmaceutical, Tofflon Science and Technology, Sinovac Biotech, and PharmaResources, rose more than 10%.
Meanwhile, humanoid robot concept stocks weakened again in early trading, with Zhongda Leader and Zhengyu Industrial hitting limit-down for a second consecutive day. Unitree Technology fell over 14%, and Jinpu Shares, Wolong Electric, Estun Automation, and Shangwei New Materials all dropped more than 7%. Unitree opened down 6.51% at 790 yuan, after surging 460% in the previous session.
At the open, the Shanghai Composite Index gapped up 0.33% and the ChiNext Index rose 1.27%. The biomedical sector exploded, with innovation drugs, ADC, gene testing, and CRO leading gains, and precious metals stocks shining. Agriculture and coal sectors underperformed. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened up 1.11% and the Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.69%. Gold stocks advanced on the international gold price surge, with Laopu Gold climbing nearly 7%. New energy vehicle makers were active, with NIO and Li Auto each rising over 4%.