Today (the 9th), the Hang Seng Index fluctuated. The Federal Reserve released the minutes from last December's meeting, indicating officials' concerns about inflation and Trump's policies, signaling a slowdown in rate cuts due to uncertainty. On the evening of the 8th, the Dow Jones and NASDAQ fell nearly 0.3% and 0.06% respectively. At the time of writing, the yield on the US 2-year Bonds fell to 4.261%, and the yield on the US 10-year Bonds dropped to 4.675%. The US Dollar Index rose to 109.18, and the US stock market is closed tonight in mourning for the late former president Carter. Mainland China announced that the December CPI increased by 0.1% year-on-year as expected, while the December PPI fell by 2.3% year-on-year (market expected a decline of 2.4%). The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 18 points or 0.58% to close at 3,211 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose by 0.3%. Today's total transaction volume in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets reached 1.11 trillion yuan.

The Hang Seng Index opened 25 points lower before turning to rise, peaking at 19,405 points with an increase of 125 points. In the afternoon, it dropped by 52 points to 19,227 points. It ended the day down 38 points or 0.2%, closing at 19,240 points, marking four consecutive days of decline (a total drop of 519 points or 2.6%). The National Index fell 11 points or 0.2%, closing at 6,978 points. The Hang Seng TECH Index rose 4 points or 0.1%, closing at 4,311 points. The total daily trading volume was 129.069 billion yuan. Conch Materials Technology (02560.HK) debuted today and closed at 1.57 yuan, down 47.7% from the listing price.

Tencent is showing a rebound while Anta rises against the trend.

Xiaomi-W (01810.HK) saw its stock price increase nearly 2.9%, reported at 33.75 yuan. NTES-S (09999.HK) launched the mobile version of 'Yanyun Sixteen Sounds' today (the 9th), with a stock price rise of 2.2%. Tencent (00700.HK) rose by 1.1%, while Alibaba-W (09988.HK) fell by 0.4%. In the chip sector, SMIC (00981.HK) and Huahong (01347.HK) rose by 2.9% and 2.2% respectively.

Anta (02020.HK) saw its stock price rise by 4.5%; the Anta brand recorded a high single-digit growth in retail sales in the fourth quarter of last year. Competitors LI NING (02331.HK) and TOPSPORTS (06110.HK) fell by 5% and 4.1% respectively. Goldman Sachs stated that LI NING participated in the company's day held by them and indicated confidence in achieving last year's full-year sales and profit guidance, though the average selling price of products decreased in the second half of last year due to an increase in discount rates. Regarding this year's gross margin, the company noted that improvements in discounts under the current conditions are uncertain and plans to increase advertising and promotion (A&P) investments.

Short selling rates have increased, and Kang Shifu surged.

Today, 29 constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index rose, while 51 stocks fell, leading to a rise-fall ratio of 35 to 61 (previous day was 27 to 72). The market recorded short selling of 18.66 billion yuan today, accounting for 16.172% of the transaction volume of the shortable stocks, which totaled 115.382 billion yuan (previous day was 14.721%).

Kang Shifu (00322.HK) saw its stock price surge by 12.2% to close at 11.2 yuan, while U-PRESID CHINA (00220.HK) rose by 6.7%. Goldman Sachs released a report stating that Kang Shifu's management team (including the Chief Financial Officer) participated in the Greater China Consumer and Leisure Company Day event yesterday (the 8th). The bank cited the management team's comments that last year's sales might be affected by price increases (as instant noodle prices were adjusted upward starting in October), but they expect an upward potential for last year's net profit growth target (10% to 15%). The bank anticipates that Kang Shifu's revenue performance in the fourth quarter will outperform that of the third quarter, with sales of Carbonated Drinks and instant noodles achieving positive growth compared to the same period last year. As the flour price decreased both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year in the fourth quarter, raw material costs had a positive impact on the gross margin, offsetting the impact of rising palm oil prices.

Looking ahead to 2025, Master Kong hopes that its revenue will grow steadily, and the net profit margin will continue to improve. The company's goal is to return to the previous peak net profit in 2025 (over 4 billion yuan in 2020) through product upgrades, the results of the pricing actions in 2024, and improved operational efficiency; management emphasized that the long-term goal of expanding profit margins is a top priority, with the aim of doubling the net profit margin.