[ET Net News Agency, 11 May 2026] The US has suffered successive setbacks regarding Iran. First, the "Project Freedom" was forced to be shelved, followed by the exposure of Iran's precision strikes on a large number of US military bases, and then the tough rejection of a peace plan by Iran. US President Trump has been mocked for his inability to resolve the blockade of the strait, leading to the emergence of "NACHO" trading in the market, which stands for "Not A Chance Hormuz Opens". Before the Xi-Trump meeting, US-Iran peace talks returned to a stalemate. HSI reported 26,318 at the half-day mark, down 75 points or 0.3%, with main board turnover exceeding HKD 157 billion. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index reported 8,862, down 26 points or 0.3%. The Hang Seng Tech Index reported 5,105, up 2 points or less than 0.1%.
"Market reaction to failed US-Iran ceasefire is limited, heavyweights' results expected to support market recovery"
Expectations for a ceasefire in the Middle East have fallen through. After Iran rejected the US proposal to end the war and put forward several demands, US President Trump stated it was "completely unacceptable". Tensions in the Middle East have escalated, yet Asia-Pacific stock markets showed little reaction. Stocks in Mainland China and Korea moved higher, while Japanese stocks first rose and then softened slightly. Nip Chun Pong, the Chief Strategist at Solo Securities, told ET Net News Agency that the overall trend of HSI was upward last week, and even with the pullback last Friday (08 May), it still recorded a weekly gain. Today it corrected due to negative geopolitical factors, but the decline was moderate. Even though the heavyweight Alibaba saw a larger drop, chip stocks rose against the market trend, leaving market sentiment relatively optimistic.
Nip Chun Pong stated that as the heads of state of Mainland China and the US are about to meet, and heavyweight tech stocks will announce results successively this week, selling pressure on Hong Kong stocks is currently not significant. Although Alibaba (09988) is expected to see a decline in net profit for the last quarter, the drop may not be as large as anticipated, giving Alibaba's share price a chance to stop falling and rebound. Another heavyweight, Tencent (00700), will also announce first-quarter results this week, with the market expecting its revenue and adjusted net profit to potentially record growth of over 10%. Combined with its recent share price weakness, there is a higher chance of a rebound after the results, which could further drive HSI stronger. Nip Chun Pong believes that as long as HSI regains 26,500 in the short term and stabilises, the market still has a chance to challenge the 27,000 level.
"Semiconductor outlook remains optimistic on high demand in Mainland China"
It is reported that Apple and Intel have reached a preliminary chip manufacturing agreement. Chip stocks in the US market surged last Friday, with Intel rising 13.9%, Micron soaring 15.5%, AMD rising 11.4%, and Qualcomm rising 8.2%, all hitting new highs. Nvidia rose for three consecutive days, touching 217.8 USD at one point, a record high, and closed up 1.82%, close to the closing high set last Monday. Hong Kong chip stocks rose against the market trend, with SMIC (00981) rising over 5% at one point, and Hua Hong (01347) rising nearly 10% at its peak.
However, regarding the surge of approximately USD 3.8 trillion in the market value of the US semiconductor sector over the past six weeks, bears have raised concerns about a chip bubble. According to Fidelity Investments, the most significant difference between this craze and the dot-com bubble in 2000 lies in strong corporate earnings. Demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) computing power has spread from Graphics Processing Units (GPU) to memory chips and traditional Central Processing Units (CPU), driving the chip industry into a full upcycle. With capacity expansion speeds restricted by multiple bottlenecks, some analysts expect the supply-demand imbalance in the chip industry to last for years rather than months.
Nip Chun Pong noted that Nvidia's share price has continued to rise recently, but its gain was less than Micron's, primarily because the latter's profit growth has been faster over the past two or three quarters, naturally attracting investors. Similarly, as long as the quarterly revenue of Hong Kong-listed chip companies continues to rise and net profit continues to improve, the industry is expected to have further upside potential. Due to the rapid development of the AI industry in Mainland China, there is high demand for chip development in AI large models, robotics, and new energy vehicles; therefore, he remains optimistic about the industry's prospects.
SMIC and Hua Hong will announce quarterly results this week. Nip Chun Pong noted that the market expects Hua Hong's first-quarter net profit to rise eightfold year-on-year, while views on SMIC's first-quarter net profit are more conservative, with single-digit growth expected. Although both currently focus on foundry business, they also have self-developed chips, with Hua Hong's self-developed chips being relatively high-end. Furthermore, US restrictions on domestic chip manufacturers often focus on SMIC, while Hua Hong faces less sanction pressure. Consequently, the market generally favours Hua Hong more.
Compared to the two major chip stocks mentioned above, the newly listed chip stocks Montage Tech (06809), GigaDevice (03986), and Novosense (02676) performed even better today, all rising by more than 10%, with Montage Tech surging over 20% to reach a record high since its H-share listing. However, Nip Chun Pong believes that since all three are listed in A-shares, the H-share prices of Montage Tech and GigaDevice have now surpassed their A-share equivalents. Montage Tech's H-shares carry a premium of about 60% over its A-shares, making it relatively less attractive. While Novosense's H-shares also hit a new high today, the current H-share price is similar to the A-share price, and it is expected to have a chance to play catch-up. However, as Novosense's H-shares saw a large gain today, he suggests aggressive investors consider buying below HKD 190, while conservative investors are advised to wait for a deployment below HKD 180.
"Baidu share price correction is of no great concern, briefing this week expected to support rebound"
According to the South China Morning Post citing sources, Baidu's (09888) Kunlunxin is seeking a Hong Kong listing with a target valuation of at least RMB 100 billion, which may be adjusted based on market conditions and final terms. Meanwhile, Kunlunxin is also seeking a listing on the Mainland China STAR Market and has initiated listing guidance with CICC as the advisory institution. Earlier in January this year, Baidu announced that Kunlunxin had submitted a listing application form to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in a confidential form through its joint sponsors.
Nip Chun Pong believes that although the market estimates Kunlunxin's valuation at RMB 100 billion, there has been no movement on the Hong Kong listing application so far. Coupled with rumours of a listing on the Mainland China STAR Market, the market may speculate whether the HKEX has stricter listing oversight, leaving questions as to whether the Hong Kong listing will ultimately proceed smoothly. However, Nip Chun Pong believes that since Baidu's overall share price trend has been upward recently, and given the market pullback today, a correction in the share price is acceptable. As Baidu will hold a briefing to announce its layout for chips, cloud business, and AI large models this year, there may be surprises to boost the share price. If the share price finds support and turns around, it may look towards HKD 150 this month.
"Market reaction to failed US-Iran ceasefire is limited, heavyweights' results expected to support market recovery"
Expectations for a ceasefire in the Middle East have fallen through. After Iran rejected the US proposal to end the war and put forward several demands, US President Trump stated it was "completely unacceptable". Tensions in the Middle East have escalated, yet Asia-Pacific stock markets showed little reaction. Stocks in Mainland China and Korea moved higher, while Japanese stocks first rose and then softened slightly. Nip Chun Pong, the Chief Strategist at Solo Securities, told ET Net News Agency that the overall trend of HSI was upward last week, and even with the pullback last Friday (08 May), it still recorded a weekly gain. Today it corrected due to negative geopolitical factors, but the decline was moderate. Even though the heavyweight Alibaba saw a larger drop, chip stocks rose against the market trend, leaving market sentiment relatively optimistic.
Nip Chun Pong stated that as the heads of state of Mainland China and the US are about to meet, and heavyweight tech stocks will announce results successively this week, selling pressure on Hong Kong stocks is currently not significant. Although Alibaba (09988) is expected to see a decline in net profit for the last quarter, the drop may not be as large as anticipated, giving Alibaba's share price a chance to stop falling and rebound. Another heavyweight, Tencent (00700), will also announce first-quarter results this week, with the market expecting its revenue and adjusted net profit to potentially record growth of over 10%. Combined with its recent share price weakness, there is a higher chance of a rebound after the results, which could further drive HSI stronger. Nip Chun Pong believes that as long as HSI regains 26,500 in the short term and stabilises, the market still has a chance to challenge the 27,000 level.
"Semiconductor outlook remains optimistic on high demand in Mainland China"
It is reported that Apple and Intel have reached a preliminary chip manufacturing agreement. Chip stocks in the US market surged last Friday, with Intel rising 13.9%, Micron soaring 15.5%, AMD rising 11.4%, and Qualcomm rising 8.2%, all hitting new highs. Nvidia rose for three consecutive days, touching 217.8 USD at one point, a record high, and closed up 1.82%, close to the closing high set last Monday. Hong Kong chip stocks rose against the market trend, with SMIC (00981) rising over 5% at one point, and Hua Hong (01347) rising nearly 10% at its peak.
However, regarding the surge of approximately USD 3.8 trillion in the market value of the US semiconductor sector over the past six weeks, bears have raised concerns about a chip bubble. According to Fidelity Investments, the most significant difference between this craze and the dot-com bubble in 2000 lies in strong corporate earnings. Demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) computing power has spread from Graphics Processing Units (GPU) to memory chips and traditional Central Processing Units (CPU), driving the chip industry into a full upcycle. With capacity expansion speeds restricted by multiple bottlenecks, some analysts expect the supply-demand imbalance in the chip industry to last for years rather than months.
Nip Chun Pong noted that Nvidia's share price has continued to rise recently, but its gain was less than Micron's, primarily because the latter's profit growth has been faster over the past two or three quarters, naturally attracting investors. Similarly, as long as the quarterly revenue of Hong Kong-listed chip companies continues to rise and net profit continues to improve, the industry is expected to have further upside potential. Due to the rapid development of the AI industry in Mainland China, there is high demand for chip development in AI large models, robotics, and new energy vehicles; therefore, he remains optimistic about the industry's prospects.
SMIC and Hua Hong will announce quarterly results this week. Nip Chun Pong noted that the market expects Hua Hong's first-quarter net profit to rise eightfold year-on-year, while views on SMIC's first-quarter net profit are more conservative, with single-digit growth expected. Although both currently focus on foundry business, they also have self-developed chips, with Hua Hong's self-developed chips being relatively high-end. Furthermore, US restrictions on domestic chip manufacturers often focus on SMIC, while Hua Hong faces less sanction pressure. Consequently, the market generally favours Hua Hong more.
Compared to the two major chip stocks mentioned above, the newly listed chip stocks Montage Tech (06809), GigaDevice (03986), and Novosense (02676) performed even better today, all rising by more than 10%, with Montage Tech surging over 20% to reach a record high since its H-share listing. However, Nip Chun Pong believes that since all three are listed in A-shares, the H-share prices of Montage Tech and GigaDevice have now surpassed their A-share equivalents. Montage Tech's H-shares carry a premium of about 60% over its A-shares, making it relatively less attractive. While Novosense's H-shares also hit a new high today, the current H-share price is similar to the A-share price, and it is expected to have a chance to play catch-up. However, as Novosense's H-shares saw a large gain today, he suggests aggressive investors consider buying below HKD 190, while conservative investors are advised to wait for a deployment below HKD 180.
"Baidu share price correction is of no great concern, briefing this week expected to support rebound"
According to the South China Morning Post citing sources, Baidu's (09888) Kunlunxin is seeking a Hong Kong listing with a target valuation of at least RMB 100 billion, which may be adjusted based on market conditions and final terms. Meanwhile, Kunlunxin is also seeking a listing on the Mainland China STAR Market and has initiated listing guidance with CICC as the advisory institution. Earlier in January this year, Baidu announced that Kunlunxin had submitted a listing application form to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in a confidential form through its joint sponsors.
Nip Chun Pong believes that although the market estimates Kunlunxin's valuation at RMB 100 billion, there has been no movement on the Hong Kong listing application so far. Coupled with rumours of a listing on the Mainland China STAR Market, the market may speculate whether the HKEX has stricter listing oversight, leaving questions as to whether the Hong Kong listing will ultimately proceed smoothly. However, Nip Chun Pong believes that since Baidu's overall share price trend has been upward recently, and given the market pullback today, a correction in the share price is acceptable. As Baidu will hold a briefing to announce its layout for chips, cloud business, and AI large models this year, there may be surprises to boost the share price. If the share price finds support and turns around, it may look towards HKD 150 this month.
