On July 27, the Hong Kong stock market saw southbound funds record a net sell-off of HK$1.574 billion. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect posted a net sell of HK$2.006 billion, while the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect recorded a net buy of HK$428 million.

The stocks that attracted the most net buying from southbound funds were Meituan-W (HKEX: 03690), Z.AI (HKEX: 02513), and KB LAMINATES (HKEX: 01888). On the other hand, the most heavily sold stocks were SMIC (HKEX: 00981), BABA-W (HKEX: 09988), and CNOOC (HKEX: 00883).

Active Stocks on Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect

Active Stocks on Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect

Meituan-W (HKEX: 03690) saw a net inflow of HK$1.216 billion. The company recently launched its full-scenario AI Agent platform, CatPaw, which offers a ready-to-use AI-powered smart workstation and enterprise-level Agent development and hosting capabilities. CatPaw has already been deployed on a large scale internally at Meituan, covering 90,000 employees and creating 30,000 Agents, with validation completed across multiple real business scenarios.

Z.AI (HKEX: 02513) attracted a net buy of HK$616 million. JPMorgan noted that Z.AI's current GLM-5.2 model remains among China's top-tier frontier models, and the upcoming release of GLM-5.3 and a new 2T+ flagship model in the coming months is anticipated. The bank believes Z.AI has the ability to maintain its domestic lead in the next model cycle, supporting the continued expansion of its ARR in the current market environment of constrained computing power.

KB LAMINATES (HKEX: 01888) received a net purchase of HK$604 million. According to reports from CCTV Finance, driven by surging AI computing demand, high-end printed circuit boards (PCBs) are in short supply, with prices continuing to rise. Leading manufacturers have already locked orders through 2027. A manager at a major PCB producer stated that the price increase began with high-speed PCBs, which are primarily used in large computing server motherboards, and the price surge for high-speed PCBs has already exceeded three to four times.

TENCENT (HKEX: 00700) saw a net buy of HK$305 million. China's National Press and Publication Administration published the seventh batch of game licenses for the year, granting 197 licenses, including 193 for domestic games and four for imported titles. This marks the largest single-batch approval in the past five years, surpassing the average levels of the first half of 2026 and 2025. Citigroup views this approval as beneficial for game developers, further solidifying a healthy supply pipeline in the industry.

YOFC (HKEX: 06869) experienced a net sell-off of HK$252 million. Jefferies stated that while AI and geopolitical conflicts are driving demand for optical fiber, and the US supply chain is facing severe shortages, the significant capacity expansion in China and globally will gradually alleviate the shortage. YOFC may face the risk of losing market share, with its earnings potentially peaking in the 2026-2027 period.

CNOOC (HKEX: 00883) was sold off with a net outflow of HK$519 million. Following a temporary halt in hostilities between the US and Iran, WTI crude oil futures prices dropped over 7%. Additionally, Macquarie released a research report predicting that CNOOC's first-half earnings may fall short of market expectations, mainly due to a widening discount in its realized crude oil prices compared to Brent crude and potential impairment charges. The firm forecasts the group's first-half net profit to be RMB 83.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21%.

BABA-W (HKEX: 09988) saw a net sell-off of HK$675 million. On July 20, the European Commission announced a fine of €550 million (approximately RMB 4.25 billion) on Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce platform, AliExpress, under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). This is the highest penalty ever imposed under the DSA. It is worth noting that the post-earnings stock performance of Google and Tesla indicates that the AI trade has shifted from a "story-driven" phase to a "cash flow validation" stage.

Furthermore, SMIC (HKEX: 00981) attracted a net buy of HK$117 million. Meanwhile, GIGADEVICE (HKEX: 03986) and SMIC (HKEX: 00981) saw net sell-offs of HK$79.75 million and HK$698 million, respectively.