Hang Seng Jumps 302 Points as Tech Rally Leads Gains; Minimax Soars Near 3% on Saudi AI Deal
SingTao · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago3 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index surged 302 points at Friday's opening, propelled by a collective rally in major technology stocks, after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated a preference for maintaining interest rates at the current 3.5%-3.75% range in September pending favorable inflation data. The optimism extended across global markets, with U.S. indices posting strong gains overnight. Notably, AI company Minimax saw its shares climb 2.7% following news that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund-backed AI venture HUMAIN would utilize Minimax's open-source flagship model for its new Arabic language AI system.
Key Points
- Hang Seng Index opened at 25,515, up 302 points, with JD.com (9618) rising 2.53%, Tencent (700) gaining 2.17%, Alibaba (9988) up 1.86%, Meituan (3690) climbing 1.35%, and Xiaomi (1810) advancing 0.87%
- Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated that recent data finally shows signs of inflation moderation, and if this trend continues over the next two weeks, he would support keeping rates at 3.5%-3.75% in September
- U.S. markets rallied overnight: the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 53,686 points (up 624 points or 1.18%), the Nasdaq rose 366 points (1.4%) to 26,584, and the S&P 500 gained 81 points (1.06%) to 7,747
- Oil prices hovered near six-week highs amid Middle East tensions as the U.S. launched additional strikes on Iran and Israel renewed threats against Tehran, with New York crude trading at $91.69 per barrel and Brent crude at $91.83
- Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN, an AI company backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), launched the Arabic language model HUMAIN M3 based on Minimax's open-source flagship model MiniMax M3, sending Minimax shares up 2.7% to HK$364.6
- Southbound trading saw a net inflow of HK$3.395 billion into Hong Kong stocks on Thursday, with the Southbound Hang Seng Tech ETF (3033), Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (6869), and Minimax (100) receiving the largest net buys totaling HK$1.403 billion combined
- Australian bank ANZ projected that copper prices could reach $15,000 next year due to tariff expectations and supply shortages, driving Zijin Mining (2899) up 4.02% to HK$37.8 at open, making it the best-performing blue chip
Why It Matters
The convergence of accommodative Fed signals and a landmark Saudi Arabian AI partnership with a Hong Kong-listed company underscores Hong Kong's evolving role as a bridge between global capital markets and Asia's technology sector. The strong tech-driven Hang Seng rally, combined with significant southbound capital inflows targeting technology and AI stocks, signals renewed investor confidence in Hong Kong equities amid easing global monetary conditions .
The convergence of accommodative Fed signals and a landmark Saudi Arabian AI partnership with a Hong Kong-listed company underscores Hong Kong's evolving role as a bridge between global capital markets and Asia's technology sector. The strong tech-driven Hang Seng rally, combined with significant southbound capital inflows targeting technology and AI stocks, signals renewed investor confidence in Hong Kong equities amid easing global monetary conditions .