Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Friday. The Hang Seng Index rose by 0.46%, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index increased by 0.22%, the Hang Seng Tech Index climbed by 0.61%.

CC Securities up 47%; Goldstream up 33%; Wuxi Apptec up 10%; Nio up 6%; Alibaba up 1.8%; Laopu Gold down 11%.

WuXi Apptec's stock price surged following the release of its interim performance forecast, with net profit expected to grow by over 100% year-on-year.

Semiconductor shares in Hong Kong experienced a significant surge with companies like Solomon Systech, Hua Hong Semi, Batelab, and SMIC showing notable increases. This surge was accompanied by positive news related to the semiconductor industry, including advancements in domestic production and the lifting of export restrictions on Chinese chip design software by the US. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's planned visits to the US and China also contributed to the positive sentiment in the sector.

NIO's stock price rose by 5.98% following the announcement of its new large electric SUV model, the L90, which is set to be officially launched at the end of July. The L90's battery rental purchase option and its extensive battery swap network have boosted investor confidence.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) experienced a 2.95% rise, with its second-quarter earnings expected to grow by 31% year-on-year, maintaining high transaction volumes.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists upgraded Hong Kong stocks to market-weight, touting them to be among the key beneficiaries of the dollar weakness resulting from the Federal Reserve’s easing cycle.

“Tariff imposition and easing monetary policy are likely to be important macro influences on Asian equity markets in the third quarter,” the strategists said. Even if the tariff rates imposed are somewhat above current baseline expectations, “the fundamental growth impact may not be as negative as markets feared in early second quarter,” they said.

Earnings growth will also be a dominant driver of returns, they added, given that regional stocks’ 14 times forward earnings ratio is in line with “macro-modeled fair value.”

Goldman Sachs had downgraded Hong Kong stocks to underweight in November, due to weak property and retail sectors, as well as less policy flow-through from China’s domestic easing. The Hang Seng Index and the MSCI Hong Kong Index have each risen at least 18% since then.