Hong Kong stock market closed on March 15th | Hang Seng Index fell by 1.42%. Copper stocks rose in the afternoon, while the pharmaceutical sector continued to decline.

Zhitong App learned that the three major stock indexes in Hong Kong continued to decline recently, showing a weak and fluctuating trend throughout the day. Among them, the Hang Seng Index performed the weakest, dropping more than 3% at one point during the day. As of the close, the Hang Seng Index fell by 1.42% or 240.77 points to 16,720.89 points, with a weekly cumulative increase of 2.25% and a total daily turnover of 139.086 billion Hong Kong dollars; the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell by 1.46% to 5,820.50 points; and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell by 1.5% to 3,549.84 points.

Sinolink International recently pointed out that the dovish turn by the Federal Reserve is favorable for risk assets, but the final stretch against inflation is expected to be repeated. The market and the Federal Reserve's game between rate cuts and balance sheet reduction will intensify market volatility. Hong Kong stocks are awaiting strong stimulus policies from the mainland to enhance economic momentum and accelerate capital inflows into the Hong Kong stock market, with the Hang Seng Index preliminarily testing 17,500 points.

Performance of Blue-chip Stocks

WUXI APPTEC (02359) continued to decline. As of the close, it fell by 8.79% to HKD 41, with a turnover of 1.04 billion Hong Kong dollars, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 2.24 points. The latest news shows that BIO revised and updated a press release on March 14th in the U.S., which was originally released on the 13th, changing the content from "BIO is currently taking steps to remove WUXI APPTEC from its membership" to "WUXI APPTEC voluntarily terminated its BIO membership."

In other blue-chip stocks, Zijin Mining (02899) rose by 2.59% to HKD 15.86, contributing 3.42 points to the Hang Seng Index; XinAo Energy (02688) rose by 2.53% to HKD 64.9, contributing 1.97 points to the Hang Seng Index; Master Kong Holdings (00322) fell by 4.16% to HKD 8.99, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 1.2 points; Haier Smart Home (06690) fell by 3.67% to HKD 23.65, dragging down the Hang Seng Index by 3.42 points.

Hot Sectors

On the market, most large-cap tech stocks were weak, dragging down the overall market; the U.S. "Biosecurity Law Draft" continued to ferment, leading CRO concept stocks to decline, and pharmaceutical stocks in the CDMO sector plummeted again; home appliance stocks, film and television stocks, gaming stocks, property stocks, auto stocks, coal stocks, and major financial stocks all declined. On the other hand, supply concerns boosted copper prices, with copper-related stocks rising against the trend; multiple factors resonated to drive up gold prices, leading gold stocks to rebound after hitting bottom.

1. Copper-related stocks rose in the afternoon. As of the close, Minmetals Resources (01208) rose by 4.38% to HKD 3.1; China Nonferrous Mining (01258) rose by 3.98% to HKD 6.8; and MMG (03939) rose by 2.99% to HKD 6.54.

• Jiangxi Copper (00358) rose by 1.95% to HKD 13.58.

According to reports, in response to the shortage of raw materials, large Chinese smelters have reached an agreement to reduce the production of some loss-making factories. Influenced by the news of production cuts, copper prices in the night session on March 14 once rose to $8,950 per ton, reaching a new high since May 2023. CITIC Securities believes that if the reduction in production at the smelting end materializes in the future, the global refined copper supply and demand balance is expected to shift from a slight surplus to a shortage ahead of schedule within the year. Against the backdrop of the fragile balance, the bank believes that the center of copper prices is likely to move upward. China Post Securities pointed out that looking ahead to 2024, the supply and demand pattern of copper is better than in 2023, combined with the Fed's interest rate cut cycle, providing solid support for copper prices.

• Gold stocks hit bottom and rebounded. At the close, Lingbao Gold (03330) rose by 13.31% to HKD 2.81; China Gold International (02099) rose by 5.18% to HKD 47.7; Zijin Mining (02899) rose by 2.59% to HKD 15.86; Shandong Gold (01787) rose by 0.79% to HKD 15.38.

The strength of the US dollar and the rise in US Treasury yields have reduced the attractiveness of gold. International gold prices fell on Thursday, with COMEX April gold futures down 0.61% to $2,167.5 per ounce. Guotai Junan Futures recently pointed out that in the short term, gold prices may fluctuate at high levels. However, in the medium to long term, with the background of the Fed's interest rate cuts, there is still some downward space for US bond yields and real interest rates. Coupled with the instability of the international political and economic environment, the probability of gold price fluctuations leaning towards the upside is higher. In addition, JPMorgan is bullish on gold, stating that gold is the bank's top choice in the commodity market and believes that gold prices may rise to $2,500 this year.

• CRO concept stocks lead the decline, and the Pharmaron Group collectively fell. At the close, Wuxi AppTec (02359) fell by 8.79% to HKD 41; Tigermed (03347) fell by 6.24% to HKD 31.55; Zai Lab (06127) fell by 4.56% to HKD 10.04; in addition, Pharmaron (02268) fell by 3.58% to HKD 15.62.

The latest news shows that BIO revised and updated a press release on March 14, changing the content of the news released on the 13th. The original statement "BIO is currently taking steps to remove Wuxi AppTec from its membership" has been changed to "Wuxi AppTec voluntarily terminated its BIO membership." Industry insiders pointed out that 2024 is the year of the US presidential election, and the story of "the wolf is coming" will be repeated. Wuxi AppTec currently relies mainly on overseas orders, and if this part of the orders is divested, it will undoubtedly affect its performance and valuation. There is significant uncertainty as to whether domestic orders can support Wuxi AppTec's current scale.

Real Estate Stocks Decline Today

As of the closing, the real estate stocks fell across the board. Yuexiu Property (00123) dropped by 4.84% to HKD 4.92; Vanke (02202) fell by 4.71% to HKD 5.87; Shimao Property (01030) declined by 2.73% to HKD 1.07; Sunac China (01918) dropped by 2.42% to HKD 1.21.

According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in February, due to factors such as a relatively high base in the same period last year, the year-on-year decline in the sales prices of new commercial housing and second-hand housing in various cities has expanded. The sales prices of new commercial housing in first-tier cities dropped by 1.0% year-on-year, with a 0.5 percentage point increase in the decline compared to the previous month. Morgan Stanley recently pointed out that the efforts made by the central government to avoid debt defaults by some leading developers are not enough to eliminate the biggest concern about the weakness in the sales of real estate. The improvement in real estate sales in March may be due to seasonal factors. The cautious view on real estate stocks will be maintained by the bank until it sees a recovery in real estate sales and stable housing prices.

Bitcoin Concept Stocks Decline

By the closing, Bitcoin concept stocks also experienced a downturn. Meitu Inc. (01357) fell by 5.12% to HKD 3.15; Xunlei Technology (01647) dropped by 3.57% to HKD 0.081; OK Group (01499) declined by 1.72% to HKD 0.285.

Bitcoin saw a significant drop today, falling below $67,000 per coin at one point, after hitting a historical peak of nearly $73,798 one day ago. In a research report at the end of February, JPMorgan Chase pointed out that after the halving event in April, the price of Bitcoin may drop to $42,000. In addition, Michael Hartnett, Chief Investment Strategist at Bank of America, stated that with the record surge of the "Big Seven" tech stocks and the historical highs of cryptocurrencies, the market is showing signs of a bubble. This statement has sparked a debate on Wall Street about whether many markets are vulnerable to a pullback.

Hot Stocks on the Move

1. UBTech Robotics (09880) Shows Strength, rising by 14.67% to HKD 222.

CITIC Securities pointed out that the humanoid robot industry is transitioning from Tesla's Optimus solo performance to a stage of diversified development. This year, companies like Figure, 1X, and UBTech Robotics are expected to become important catalysts for the industry.

2. Fosun Pharma (03933) Hits a New High, rising by 9.56% to HKD 9.28.

Fosun Pharma announced that it expects to achieve a profit of approximately RMB 2.6 billion in 2023, while the profit in 2022 is expected to be around RMB 1.581 billion. The announcement stated that the increase in profits was mainly attributed to the continuous and steady growth in the group's various business sectors throughout the year.

3. Tuhu-W (09690) rose after the performance announcement, closing up by 5.47% at HKD 11.96.

Tuhu announced its 2023 performance, with revenue of approximately RMB 13.601 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.8%; gross profit of approximately RMB 3.359 billion, a year-on-year increase of 48%; and adjusted net profit of approximately RMB 0.481 billion, achieving a full-year profit for the first time.