Hong Kong's three major indices opened higher but closed lower, with losses accelerating in the afternoon session. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell over 2%. At the close, the Hang Seng Index was down 1.03%, or 264.6 points, at 25,386.52, with a total turnover of approximately HK$298.55 billion. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.51% to 8,475.32, and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.15% to 4,768.9.

Citic Securities noted that recent weakness in Hong Kong stocks is attributed to uncertainties in overseas markets, continued downward revisions to earnings expectations for certain sectors, and some domestic macroeconomic data for April falling short of expectations. However, the MSCI quarterly rebalancing at the end of May could bring incremental capital to the Hong Kong market. Future trade consultations between China and the US may support a continuation of valuation expansion in the near term. Attention will be needed from June onwards regarding potential liquidity pressure from share lock-up expiries.

Among blue-chip stocks, HSBC Holdings (00005) saw a moderate gain, closing up 2.16% at HK$141.7, contributing 45.53 points to the HSI. Goldman Sachs highlighted that HSBC's management outlined a strategic roadmap to transform the bank into a "growth, high-return" institution at an Asian seminar. The Asian business currently contributes 51% of deposits, 52% of revenue, and 65% of pre-tax profit. Goldman Sachs views the bank's position as a "connector" between China and global markets favorably, with Hong Kong being a key platform for mainland clients going international.

Other blue-chip movers included Sunny Optical (02382), which surged 9.32% to HK$68.6, contributing 6.7 HSI points; Innovent Biologics (01801), up 3.97% to HK$82.55, contributing 8.24 points. Alibaba-W (09988) fell 4.47% to HK$126, dragging the HSI down by 90.3 points, while Tencent (00700) dropped 3.56% to HK$439, weighing on the index by 65.44 points.

In terms of market sectors, large-cap tech stocks were broadly under pressure, with Alibaba and Tencent leading declines. The autonomous driving concept surged in early trading, spurred by Tesla's official announcement that its supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) capability is now available in China. ZHEJIANG SHIBAO (01057) jumped over 19% at one point. Humanoid robotics-related stocks also performed strongly amid a flurry of positive catalysts. Airline stocks rebounded on the dual tailwinds of easing Middle East tensions and a decline in international oil prices. Brokerage and innovative drug concept stocks were active. Conversely, optical communication, AI application, and oil & gas stocks were under pressure.

1. Most autonomous driving concept stocks rose. At the close, ZHEJIANG SHIBAO (01057) was up 10.49% at HK$5.16; WeRide-W (00800) gained 7.3% to HK$19.41; Seres (09927) advanced 5.09% to HK$70.2. Tesla officially announced on May 21 the latest deployment of its supervised FSD, noting its availability in China. In April, Tesla's CFO stated during the Q1 earnings call that the company is in close communication with Chinese regulators, aiming for full approval of FSD in China by Q3 2026. Concurrently, Tesla China is accelerating technical groundwork, updating its owner's manual in early May to include full feature details for FSD V14, further enhancing its autonomous driving support information in China.

2. Some robotics concept stocks stood out. At the close, ESTUN (02715) surged 10.57% to HK$15.9; Johnson Electric (00179) rose 6.25% to HK$27.22; Zhaowei (02692) increased 4.78% to HK$76.7. Recent catalysts for humanoid robots have been frequent. Humanoid robot company Figure recently hosted a 7x24 live stream to document its F.03 robot handling small parcel sorting. Additionally, on May 21, Tesla Vice President Tao Lin posted that at the Fremont factory in California, Elon Musk and owners of the Model S/X Signature Edition witnessed the final production of these models, with the production line soon to be converted for Tesla's humanoid robot. Barclays noted in a recent thematic report on humanoid robots that AI is moving from "digital intelligence" to "physical AI," with humanoid robots becoming a key carrier of this technological revolution.

3. Airline stocks rebounded today. At the close, AIR CHINA (00753) rose 4.38% to HK$4.77; China Eastern Airlines (00670) gained 3.68% to HK$3.66; China Southern Airlines (01055) added 2.93% to HK$3.87; Cathay Pacific (00293) increased 3.34% to HK$12.39. Former US President Trump stated on the 20th that he would be willing to wait a few more days for a response from Iran if a deal could be reached. Affected by this news, international crude oil futures settled sharply lower, down over 5.5% on Wednesday. Changjiang Securities pointed out that overseas jet fuel prices have retreated first, and domestic cost pressures are expected to ease significantly in June. Short-term stock prices have been heavily impacted by fuel cost increases due to geopolitical conflicts. If the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz ends, oil price expectations improve, Middle East routes resume on a large scale, and additional China-US flights are approved, airline profit expectations could gradually recover, with preference for the three major Hong Kong-listed airlines and A-share private carriers.

Notable individual movers: HANS CNC (03200) rose throughout the session, closing up 8.94% at HK$179.2. During Nvidia's Q1 earnings call, the CFO confirmed to investors that the next-generation Rubin architecture chips are on schedule and will begin shipping in the second half of this year. It is understood that the iterative upgrades of Nvidia's Rubin and Rubin Ultra architectures, replacing copper cables with PCB midplanes and orthogonal backplanes, are expected to bring high-end incremental demand to the PCB industry.

China Travel International Investment Hong Kong (00308) climbed again, closing up 5.79% at HK$1.28. The company announced plans to spin off its Hong Kong and Macao cultural tourism business via a distribution in specie and list it independently on the Main Board by way of introduction. Post-spin-off, the listed company will retain the scenic area and supporting services business, while the Hong Kong and Macao文旅 entity will take over passenger transport, hotel, travel document, and related services, focusing on operations in the Hong Kong and Macao markets.

XPENG-W (09868) was active, closing up 4.57% at HK$60.6. XPeng's first full-size flagship SUV, the GX, officially launched on May 20. According to the company's official Weibo, the GX received 24,863 firm orders within 12 hours of launch. The official guide price ranges from 279,800 to 359,800 yuan, which is over 100,000 yuan lower than the previously announced pre-sale price of 399,800 yuan.

SANY INT'L (00631) fell after earnings, closing down 11.01% at HK$8.97. The company released its Q1 results, with revenue reaching 6.651 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.2%. Profit attributable to owners of the parent was 509 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.8%. The decline in net profit was mainly due to an increased proportion of revenue from products with slightly lower gross margins in the logistics equipment business, leading to a decrease in the overall product gross margin. Additionally, during the period, the new energy business was affected by rising prices of silicon wafers, silicon materials, and battery cell raw materials, resulting in a decline in the overall product gross margin for the new energy segment.

Jingwei Tiandi (02477) plummeted, closing down 83.16% at HK$0.83. The stock, which was included in the Southbound Stock Connect list less than 20 days ago on May 6, experienced a flash crash. The company's 2025 revenue fell 21.46% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to the parent declined 23.85% year-on-year. The stock has recently undergone events including a share split and a foray into AI computing power.