According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the newly released manufacturing PMI in the United States is lower than expected, once again causing market concerns about economic recession. The three major indexes of the Hong Kong stock market were under pressure all day, with the Hang Seng Index falling by 1.1% or 194.15 points to 17,457.34 points and a total trading volume of 96.982 billion Hong Kong dollars; the H shares index fell by 1.12% to 6,133.98 points; and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell by 0.39% to 3,482.84 points.

Zhejiang International pointed out that the current market fundamentals have not improved; funding expectations continue to improve; policy support is gradually strengthening. Although the market has continued to rebound moderately since accelerating its bottoming out in early August, overall market sentiment remains relatively low. Therefore, the bank will still maintain a relatively cautious attitude towards the short-term market. In terms of allocation, given the continued pressure on macroeconomic data, even in the case of recent significant corrections, the bank still remains bullish on the allocation of dividend sectors such as banks, telecommunications, and utilities.

Blue chip performance

CNOOC (00883) led the decline in blue-chip stocks. It closed down 6.35% at HKD 19.9, with a turnover of 3.547 billion Hong Kong dollars, dragging the Hang Seng Index down by 33.97 points. Hopes for a recovery in Libyan oil supply have pushed oil prices down 5% to a new low since the beginning of the year on Tuesday. In addition, as the news of possible OPEC+ production increase continues to ferment, market confidence in Saudi Arabia and other countries reducing production to support oil prices is gradually weakening.

As for other blue-chip stocks, WuXi AppTec (02359) rose 3.25% to HKD 34.9, contributing 0.63 points to the Hang Seng Index; Ctrip Group-S (09961) rose 1.25% to HKD 373.6, contributing 1.27 points to the Hang Seng Index; Zijin Mining Group (02899) fell 6.15% to HKD 14.34, dragging the Hang Seng Index down by 8.25 points; PetroChina (00857) fell 6.06% to HKD 6.51, dragging the Hang Seng Index down by 14.23 points.

Hot sectors

On the market, large-cap technology stocks are mixed, with Bilibili up over 3% while Tencent down over 1%. The overall market is significantly under pressure, with industry sectors generally trading in the red. International oil prices are all down, leading to a collective decline in petroleum stocks today; the strength of the US dollar is pressuring the gold price, with gold stocks leading the decline; nonferrous metal stocks, chip stocks, coal stocks, mid-sized infrastructure stocks, shipping stocks, and others are all showing weak performance. On the other hand, certain auto stocks, CRO concept stocks, and China mainland banking stocks are bucking the trend with gains.

1. Gold stocks lead the decline. As of the close, Chinagoldintl (02099) fell by 10.03%, closing at 30.95 Hong Kong dollars; Zijin Mining Group (02899) fell by 6.15%, closing at 14.34 Hong Kong dollars; Lingbao Gold (03330) fell by 2.42%, closing at 2.82 Hong Kong dollars; SD Gold (01787) fell by 1.93%, closing at 14.2 Hong Kong dollars.

Under pressure from the stronger US dollar, the gold price has fallen to its lowest point in over a week. The current market is awaiting the US non-farm payroll data. The US August ISM manufacturing PMI is 47.2, lower than the expected 47.5 but higher than the previous value. The US ISM manufacturing new orders index has fallen to its lowest since May 2023. The market reignites concerns about economic slowdown.

However, Goldman Sachs remains bullish on gold. An analyst at Goldman Sachs stated in a report that the possibility of a rise in gold prices is the highest among commodities, maintaining a target price of reaching $2700 per ounce in early 2025. Based on Tuesday's spot gold price, Goldman Sachs believes that there is still over 8% upside potential for gold by early next year.

2. Petroleum stocks collectively decline. As of the close, China Oilfield Services (00883) fell by 6.35%, closing at 19.9 Hong Kong dollars; PetroChina (00857) fell by 6.06%, closing at 6.51 Hong Kong dollars; China Oil (02883) fell by 3.4%, closing at 6.82 Hong Kong dollars; Sinopec (00386) fell by 2.48%, closing at 5.11 Hong Kong dollars.

Overnight, international oil prices all dropped, with WTI October crude oil futures closing down 3.21 US dollars, a decrease of 4.36%, at 70.34 US dollars per barrel. Brent November crude oil futures closed down 3.77 US dollars, a decrease of 4.86%, at 73.75 US dollars per barrel. There are reports that an agreement to resolve the dispute over the halt in Libya's crude oil production and exports is imminent. Meanwhile, both the expected economic weakness in the US and Europe in the near term have led to soft global oil demand, and worries about crude oil demand have caused oil prices to decline.

In addition, as the news of possible production increases by OPEC+ continues to ferment, market confidence in Saudi Arabia's support for oil prices through production cuts is gradually weakening. Furthermore, Goldman Sachs wrote in a report on Tuesday that artificial intelligence may harm oil prices in the next ten years, as this technology can improve logistics, thereby reducing demand and increasing the amount of profitable extraction resources, thereby increasing supply.

3. Chip stocks generally trend lower. As of the close, ASMPT (00522) fell by 3.81%, closing at 85.85 Hong Kong dollars; Hua Hong Semi (01347) fell by 2.99%, closing at 16.24 Hong Kong dollars; Solomon Systech (02878) fell by 2.9%, closing at 0.335 Hong Kong dollars; Shanghai Fudan (01385) fell by 2.59%, closing at 10.52 Hong Kong dollars.

Affected by the poor US manufacturing data, the market has renewed concerns about the US economic recession. Among them, US chip stocks have fallen sharply. Overnight, NVIDIA plummeted by 9.53%, evaporating a market cap of approximately $280 billion (about RMB 2 trillion); Intel fell by 8.8%; Advanced Micro Devices fell by 7.82%; Taiwan Semiconductor fell by 6.53%. Donghai Securities research report pointed out that industry demand is slowly recovering, and short-term prices have declined slightly; however, the level of independent controllability under overseas pressure continues to increase, and the industry valuation is historically low. It is recommended to gradually establish positions at low levels.

4. Coal stocks continue to be under pressure. As of the close, Mongol Mining (00975) fell by 3.65% to HKD 7.65; China Coal Energy (01898) fell by 2.58% to HKD 9.06; Yancoal Australia (03668) fell by 2.56% to HKD 28.55; China Shenhua Energy (01088) fell by 1.85% to HKD 31.9.

CITIC Securities pointed out that affected by factors such as the decline in coal prices and safety supervision, the net profit of sample companies in the first half of the year decreased by about 24% year-on-year, and the net profit in Q2 decreased by about 8% quarter-on-quarter. Despite the decline in performance, the stock dividend yield of the sector is still attractive. Looking forward to the second half of the year, the dividend style may still be the driving force for the rise of the sector. With the gradual clarification of the bottom expectation of coal prices, the sector sentiment and dividend expectations are stable. We believe that in the later stage of the year, the sector will continue to have excess returns.

Huatai Futures stated that the supply in August was relatively stable, and both port and terminal inventories were reduced. Coal was affected by the peak demand season, and prices had some rigid support. Entering the coal-light season in September, the expected daily consumption downstream will peak and then decline, and market demand will be unable to provide strong support, so there is still a possibility of downward pressure on prices in the market. In the medium and long term, under the background of abundant hydropower, insufficient overall demand, and high total inventory, prices are relatively weak.

Popular fluctuating stocks

1. Ascendas Group (02459) rebounded after resuming trading. As of the close, it rose by 78.46% to HKD 0.58.

Ascendas Group announced this morning that it was informed by Otautahi Capital Inc that a total of approximately 0.37 billion shares (approximately 36.64%) were forcibly sold by the securities company in the open market through a margin securities account on September 3. After the forced sale, Otautahi Capital Inc holds approximately 0.212 billion shares, a sharp drop to 21.02%.

According to the investigation of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on highly concentrated shareholding, Otautahi Capital Inc held 57.67% of the shares on August 19. Based on this, the forcibly sold shares account for approximately 63.53% of its original total holdings. The announcement stated that the group maintains normal business operations, and there have been no major changes in the group's business operations and financial conditions.

2. DiDi Travel (02559) soared significantly, closing at a 29.47% increase to HKD 2.46.

DiDi Travel recently released its performance. The total revenue for the first half of the year was CNY 0.404 billion, a 2% year-on-year increase. The adjusted net profit reached CNY 0.13 billion, a 51.3% year-on-year increase. According to the announcement, as of June 30, 2024, DiDi Travel has registered users of 0.368 billion and provides ride-sharing services in 366 cities nationwide. The number of certified private car owners has reached 17.7 million, a 17% year-on-year increase.

3. NIO-SW (09866) rose against the trend, closing at a 5.81% increase to HKD 33.7.

NIO will hold a board meeting on September 5th (tomorrow) to approve the unaudited financial performance and announcements for the three and six months ending June 30, 2024. According to the company's previous disclosure, in the second quarter of this year, NIO delivered 57,373 new vehicles, surpassing the delivery guidance, a year-on-year increase of 143.9%. In the first half of 2024, NIO delivered a total of 87,426 new vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 60.2%.

4. Prada (01913) initially fell more than 9% but eventually closed with a 2.04% decrease at HKD 52.75.

Dior, a luxury brand under the LVMH Group, announced the appointment of Benedetta Petruzzo, former CEO of Prada's brand Miu Miu, as the Managing Director. The appointment will be effective from October 15th. It is reported that Benedetta Petruzzo joined Prada in 2020 and was mainly responsible for the fastest-growing brand, Miu Miu. Prada's interim results showed that the retail sales of the Prada and Miu Miu brands in the first half of the year increased by 5.5% and 92.7%, respectively.