[ET Net News Agency, 07 August 2026] With the situation in the Middle East remaining unstable, overnight oil prices and US Treasury yields rebounded. In addition, according to a report by the UK's Financial Times, Federal Reserve Chair Warsh stated that if inflation data in the next few weeks is hot or market rate-hike expectations heat up, Warsh will be prepared to raise interest rates, causing US stocks to soften on Thursday. Asian stock markets traded mixed this morning, with Japan and Korea falling and Mainland China shares rising. The HSI opened slightly lower and then traded volatilely, dropping over a hundred points intraday. Subsequently, the gains in Mainland China shares expanded, driving the HSI to turn upwards. The HSI closed the half-day at 25,567, up 37 points or 0.1%, with main board turnover of nearly HKD 14.12 billion. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index stood at 8,503, up 5 points or less than 0.1%. The Hang Seng Tech Index stood at 4,837, up 16 points or 0.3%.
"Lee Ming Tak: HSI expected to oscillate in the 25,000 to 26,000 range in the short term"
Under the dual blows of tightening tensions in the Middle East and heating up rate-hike expectations, the HSI softened and lost the bull-bear line (around 25,732 points) for two consecutive days. Lee Ming Tak, Fund Manager at Monmonkey Group Asset Management, told ET Net News Agency that the external environment is difficult to predict and rate stances are adjusted almost weekly, with the current broader market trend mainly depending on the performance of oil prices. If oil prices remain in the range of USD 70 to 90 per barrel, the impact on Hong Kong stock investment sentiment will be limited, and the HSI is expected to oscillate in the range of 25,000 points to 26,000 points.
He pointed out that 26,000 points is the high point of the current round of market movement. Having climbed from the low point of 22,518 points to where it is now, the HSI has accumulated a fair bit of gains, but the current broader market lacks upward momentum. Among them, large financial heavyweight stocks such as AIA (01299) and HSBC (00005) have previously accumulated relatively high price gains, and recently suffered a shock from news that Mainland China plans to levy taxes on Hong Kong policy returns, depressing sector valuations. With financial stocks running out of steam, the subsequent trend of Hong Kong stocks can only rely on tech stocks to drive it. However, tech heavyweight stocks such as Tencent (00700) and Alibaba (09988), which served as the main drivers of the rising market, have generally risen by 20% to 30% over the past month, and their current forecast price-to-earnings ratios are around 13 to 15 times, making them strictly speaking no longer cheap. Therefore, if the HSI wants to break through 26,000 points, it is more likely to wait until the mid-to-late August earnings releases of tech stocks. By then, if companies can release more good news such as AI deployment, leading to valuation upgrades for leaders like Tencent and Alibaba, other tech stocks will have room to follow suit, and Hong Kong stocks will possess the opportunity to surge upwards again.
"Zai Lab expected to rise to HKD 18 to 20 with no great difficulty"
Zai Lab (09688) announced that for the second quarter ended 30 June, the loss widened to USD 50.825 million from a loss of USD 40.72 million in the same period last year, with a loss per share of USD 5 cents. Total revenue was USD 106.3 million, down 3.3% year-on-year, but up 11% quarter-on-quarter, far outperforming the market expectation of USD 2.5 million, benefiting from the stable performance of Zejula and the continued sales growth of Efgartigimod.
Following the earnings announcement, Zai Lab's share price surged, soaring over 15% at one point. Lee Ming Tak stated that Zai Lab's earnings met market expectations, especially with its eye-catching quarter-on-quarter revenue performance. He pointed out that Zai Lab is a leading enterprise in the innovative drug sector. Reviewing its share price trend, since its high point in the middle of last year, the share price has nearly halved, and rebound momentum is ample.
Lee Ming Tak specifically mentioned that the most noteworthy point in this financial report is the company's announcement of an operational transformation. In the past, the company mainly focused on licensed-in drugs, but in the future, it will gradually shift towards the route of independently researched and developed drugs, and this transformation will win higher valuations from the market. He emphasised that the company currently possesses the financial strength to execute this transformation; liquid assets including cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totalled approximately USD 720 million at mid-year, and the overall debt level is low, providing ample funds to invest in independent research and development.
From the perspective of the share price trend, Lee Ming Tak believes that it is not difficult for Zai Lab to rebound to HKD 18 to 20. However, if it wants to further break through the HKD 20 mark, it needs to see the results of multiple important clinical data sets announced by the company in October and at the end of the year, as well as whether the independent R&D transformation has continuous results released. Investors can wait for the share price to adjust slightly to the 20-day moving average, which is around HKD 15.3 to 15.5, before considering batch-buying for deployment.
"Lee Ming Tak: HSI expected to oscillate in the 25,000 to 26,000 range in the short term"
Under the dual blows of tightening tensions in the Middle East and heating up rate-hike expectations, the HSI softened and lost the bull-bear line (around 25,732 points) for two consecutive days. Lee Ming Tak, Fund Manager at Monmonkey Group Asset Management, told ET Net News Agency that the external environment is difficult to predict and rate stances are adjusted almost weekly, with the current broader market trend mainly depending on the performance of oil prices. If oil prices remain in the range of USD 70 to 90 per barrel, the impact on Hong Kong stock investment sentiment will be limited, and the HSI is expected to oscillate in the range of 25,000 points to 26,000 points.
He pointed out that 26,000 points is the high point of the current round of market movement. Having climbed from the low point of 22,518 points to where it is now, the HSI has accumulated a fair bit of gains, but the current broader market lacks upward momentum. Among them, large financial heavyweight stocks such as AIA (01299) and HSBC (00005) have previously accumulated relatively high price gains, and recently suffered a shock from news that Mainland China plans to levy taxes on Hong Kong policy returns, depressing sector valuations. With financial stocks running out of steam, the subsequent trend of Hong Kong stocks can only rely on tech stocks to drive it. However, tech heavyweight stocks such as Tencent (00700) and Alibaba (09988), which served as the main drivers of the rising market, have generally risen by 20% to 30% over the past month, and their current forecast price-to-earnings ratios are around 13 to 15 times, making them strictly speaking no longer cheap. Therefore, if the HSI wants to break through 26,000 points, it is more likely to wait until the mid-to-late August earnings releases of tech stocks. By then, if companies can release more good news such as AI deployment, leading to valuation upgrades for leaders like Tencent and Alibaba, other tech stocks will have room to follow suit, and Hong Kong stocks will possess the opportunity to surge upwards again.
"Zai Lab expected to rise to HKD 18 to 20 with no great difficulty"
Zai Lab (09688) announced that for the second quarter ended 30 June, the loss widened to USD 50.825 million from a loss of USD 40.72 million in the same period last year, with a loss per share of USD 5 cents. Total revenue was USD 106.3 million, down 3.3% year-on-year, but up 11% quarter-on-quarter, far outperforming the market expectation of USD 2.5 million, benefiting from the stable performance of Zejula and the continued sales growth of Efgartigimod.
Following the earnings announcement, Zai Lab's share price surged, soaring over 15% at one point. Lee Ming Tak stated that Zai Lab's earnings met market expectations, especially with its eye-catching quarter-on-quarter revenue performance. He pointed out that Zai Lab is a leading enterprise in the innovative drug sector. Reviewing its share price trend, since its high point in the middle of last year, the share price has nearly halved, and rebound momentum is ample.
Lee Ming Tak specifically mentioned that the most noteworthy point in this financial report is the company's announcement of an operational transformation. In the past, the company mainly focused on licensed-in drugs, but in the future, it will gradually shift towards the route of independently researched and developed drugs, and this transformation will win higher valuations from the market. He emphasised that the company currently possesses the financial strength to execute this transformation; liquid assets including cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totalled approximately USD 720 million at mid-year, and the overall debt level is low, providing ample funds to invest in independent research and development.
From the perspective of the share price trend, Lee Ming Tak believes that it is not difficult for Zai Lab to rebound to HKD 18 to 20. However, if it wants to further break through the HKD 20 mark, it needs to see the results of multiple important clinical data sets announced by the company in October and at the end of the year, as well as whether the independent R&D transformation has continuous results released. Investors can wait for the share price to adjust slightly to the 20-day moving average, which is around HKD 15.3 to 15.5, before considering batch-buying for deployment.
