Hong Kong's three major stock indices all declined on October 15. At the close, the Hang Seng Index fell 1.03% to 24,062.72, the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.72%, and the State-Owned Enterprises Index slipped 0.98%.
On the trading floor, tech internet stocks broadly declined, with Lenovo Group Ltd (ASX: 00992) plunging over 14% and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) dropping more than 4%.
In contrast, mainland banking stocks were active against the trend, with Agricultural Bank of China (SSE: 601288) rising over 3%.
Memory concept stocks suffered sharp losses, as the CSOP SK Hynix Daily Leveraged (2x) product fell more than 24%.
The optical communication sector led the declines, with Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (SSE: 601869) dropping over 13%.
Mainland Banking Stocks Defy the Downtrend
Mainland banking stocks were active against the broader market decline, with Agricultural Bank of China (SSE: 601288) gaining more than 3%.
Citi issued a research report announcing the initiation of a 30-day positive catalyst watch on Agricultural Bank of China, citing expectations that its strong third-quarter results could exceed market forecasts, with profit growth potentially accelerating to approximately 10% year-on-year. This would imply a 6.8% year-on-year increase for the first three quarters, compared to 4.9% growth in the first half, marking the highest growth rate among large mainland banks.
Memory Concept Stocks Plummet
Memory concept stocks experienced sharp declines, with the CSOP SK Hynix Daily Leveraged (2x) product falling over 24%.
The South Korean stock market suffered a severe blow on Thursday, with the KOSPI index plunging more than 9% at one point, triggering circuit breakers in both markets successively, prompting emergency intervention from regulators. By the close, the decline in Korean stocks had narrowed, finishing down 7.57%.
According to South Korean media outlet Dealsite, citing multiple informed sources in the semiconductor equipment industry, some HBM4 back-end equipment orders originally scheduled for delivery in the second half of this year are showing signs of delay, and subsequent order plans remain unclear. Meanwhile, there is no data to corroborate full-capacity utilization of already-delivered equipment, and next year's investment plans have not yet been formally communicated to some suppliers.
Optical Communication Sector Leads Declines
The optical communication sector led the declines, with Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (SSE: 601869) dropping over 13%.
The recent adjustment in the optical communication sector stems primarily from market concerns that the United States may further restrict Chinese optical module products. Previously, research views attributed to Morgan Stanley circulated in the market regarding 3.2T optical modules and material source ratio requirements, in which claims that U.S.-sourced content in the bill of materials could reach 65% drew investor attention. However, this ratio requirement has not yet become an officially published policy or regulation by the FCC.