Shares of China Hongqiao (01378) rose more than 6% during the session, bringing the cumulative gain for the month above 20%. At the time of writing, the stock was up 5.01% to HK$24.32, with a turnover of HK$11.34 billion.

Social inventories of primary aluminum continued to decline in June, a traditionally weak season for demand, reaching 1.007 million metric tons. Zhongtai Securities noted that the drawdown in social inventories confirms the aluminum supply-demand balance, while high dividend payouts enhance defensive characteristics. Nanjing Securities observed that domestic aluminum social inventories are now in a destocking trend, with the peak season for downstream operations progressing smoothly.

It is worth noting that China Hongqiao expects its first-half net profit to increase by approximately 39% year-on-year. Huatai Securities stated that, despite the current relatively pessimistic market sentiment, it maintains the view that the company is significantly undervalued by the market given its high dividend attributes. Furthermore, domestic primary aluminum capacity remains constrained by a hard cap, and high-cost overseas production continues to support aluminum prices. The brokerage expects sustained high prices to continue supporting the company's robust performance and dividend payouts.