Mainland investors recorded a net sell-off of HK$27.36 billion in the Hong Kong stock market on March 24. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect saw net outflows of HK$17.12 billion, while the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect registered net outflows of HK$10.24 billion. The stocks with the highest net purchases by mainland investors were TENCENT (00700), POP MART (09992), and Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (06869). The top net sold stocks were the Tracker Fund (02800), the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index Fund (02828), and the CSOP Hang Seng Tech Index ETF (03033).

TENCENT (00700) received net inflows of HK$749 million. The company recently announced a significant increase in AI investments. Bank of America Securities believes TENCENT's AI revaluation path is clear, citing the upcoming launch of Hunyuan 3.0, accelerated cloud revenue growth, and the WeChat AI Agent over the next 6-18 months as key catalysts. The bank expects TENCENT's capital expenditure intensity to remain well below 50% of its operating cash flow through 2026-2027.

POP MART (09992) attracted net buying of HK$648 million ahead of its full-year results announcement on March 25. The company disclosed in February that it aims to sell over 400 million products globally across all IPs and categories by 2025, with THE MONSTERS series exceeding 100 million units. Shenwan Hongyuan Group suggests the upcoming earnings report may alleviate concerns about volatility in single IP performance.

CHINA MOBILE (00941) faced net selling of HK$299 million. Investors are awaiting the company's full-year results on March 26, particularly focusing on management's updated operational guidance, including the impact of VAT increases, competition and cost factors in the data center market, potential fee adjustments to offset impacts, and future investment plans for cloud computing and computing power.

Shandong Molong Petroleum Machinery (00568) and CNOOC (00883) saw net outflows of HK$89.84 million and HK$612 million, respectively. This followed a sharp decline in international oil prices, with both WTI and Brent crude falling over 10% after former US President Trump hinted at a potential deal with Iran. Reports later indicated Iran had received a message from the US through mediators.

Notably, mainland investors heavily sold Hong Kong ETF products. The Tracker Fund (02800), Hang Seng China Enterprises Index Fund (02828), and CSOP Hang Seng Tech Index ETF (03033) recorded net outflows of HK$13.07 billion, HK$5.96 billion, and HK$5.96 billion, respectively. Huatai Securities noted that the Hong Kong market corrected earlier than global peers, with large-cap stocks particularly under pressure since Q4, leaving valuations at relatively low levels globally. The brokerage cautioned that global risk assets haven't fully priced in the sustainability of high oil prices, and with significant geopolitical uncertainty remaining, risk-on trades carry elevated exposure. While the index may be approaching a bottom, Huatai believes a sustained rebound might still require further catalysts.

Meanwhile, Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (06869) received net inflows of HK$485 million. Alibaba-W (09988) and SMIC (00981) experienced net selling of HK$155 million and HK$404 million, respectively.