Addressing the Mideast conflict, COSCO SHIP HOLD (01919.HK) said at its 2025 annual results briefing held online today (9th) that it has not yet considered resuming navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

The company noted that capacity deployed on Mideast routes accounts for a relatively small proportion of total global shipping capacity in the container shipping market, and the overall impact of capacity spillover arising from the regional situation is relatively limited.
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Spot USD/CNY sank 136 bps to close at 6.8410 today (9th). As of 4:47 pm, USD/CNY in the night session dropped 105 bps. USD/CNH lost 75 bps to 6.8390, 20 bps above USD/CNY.
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The HSI crossed the finish line at 25,752, down 140 points or 0.5%. The HSCEI fell 65 pts or 0.8% to close at 8,611. The HSTECH dropped 101 points or 2.1%, closing at 4,821. Total market turnover for the day amounted to HKD244.977 billion.

US President Donald Trump stressed that all US naval vessels, aircraft, military personnel, and equipment will remain around Iran until a real agreement is reached and fully implemented. If the agreement fails to be honored, he warned that the scale and intensity of military action would far exceed previous operations. Some reports also said the Strait of Hormuz is still under blockade.

Amid international oil price surges, CNOOC (00883.HK) and PETROCHINA (00857.HK) leaped 2.1% and nearly 2%, while SINOPEC CORP (00386.HK) receded 1.9%.

BABA-W (09988.HK) dived 2.8%. It has reportedly established a new Group Technology Committee and upgraded its Tongyi large model division. It is also said that Unitree Robotics is brewing an overseas strategic partnership with BABA-W, with its latest robot R1 appearing at Alibaba Xixi Campus.

TENCENT (00700.HK) edged up less than 0.1% to close at HKD508.5. Tencent Cloud is set to raise prices of AI computing power, container services, and EMR-related products on May 9. LENOVO GROUP (00992.HK) and SENSETIME-W (00020.HK) lost 2.4% and nearly 2%. MEITUAN-W (03690.HK), JD-SW (09618.HK), NTES-S (09999.HK), BILIBILI-W (09626.HK), and BIDU-SW (09888.HK) slipped 0.2-1.8%. KUAISHOU-W (01024.HK) plunged 3.6% after S&P said its free cash flow may more than halve this year and its capital expenditure may surge 70%.

Chip stocks HUA HONG SEMI (01347.HK) and SMIC (00981.HK) dipped 0.2% and 0.8%. AI stocks were hyped up. KNOWLEDGE ATLAS (02513.HK) jumped 7%. MINIMAX-W (00100.HK) slid 0.1% after releasing an AI Agent command-line tool named MMX-CLI. XUNCE (03317.HK) soared 23.9%, with a turnover of HKD2.811 billion.
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New energy passenger vehicle (NEV-PV) exports numbered 349,000 units in March, up 139.9% YoY and 29.6% MoM, data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed. NEV-PVs accounted for 50.2% of total PV exports, representing an increase of 13.7 ppts compared with the same period last year.

In terms of NEV exports by manufacturer in March, leading companies included BYD COMPANY (01211.HK), GEELY AUTO (00175.HK) and CHERY AUTO (09973.HK), with export volumes of 116,882 units, 52,186 units and 40,837 units, respectively, ranking as the top three exporters. Tesla China ranked fourth with only 29,563 units.
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Jefferies issued a research report expecting BABA-W (09988.HK)'s cloud business to continue strong growth and accelerate in the March quarter. The broker believed that MaaS will be the key growth driver over the next 5 years, with the recent launch of Happy Horse (text-to-video) achieving success.

Therefore, Jefferies kept rating at Buy on BABA-W, and slashed its target prices for BABA-W's US stock/ H-shares from US$212/ $206 to US$185/ $179.
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China's passenger vehicle (PV) market reported retail sales of 1.648 million units in March, down 15.0% YoY but up 59.4% MoM, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Among them, a total of 848,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) were retailed that month, down 14.4% YoY but up 82.6% MoM. In 1Q26, retail sales of NEVs dropped by 21.1% YoY to 1.908 million units.

Looking ahead to China's PV market in April, as NEVs continue to record high growth, competition in the mid-to-high-end segment is intensifying, while the economy electric vehicle segment is shrinking sharply. The CPCA warned that structural growth in the auto market may struggle to offset overall volume growth pressure.
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Jefferies published a research report appreciating MIDEA GROUP (00300.HK) as one of the most compelling compound growth stories within its coverage.

However, due to headwinds like weak demand in March, higher base and raw material prices, the broker chopped its target prices for MIDEA GROUP's A-/ H-shares from RMB100/ $110 to RMB90/ $102, with ratings at Buy.

In the export markets, Jefferies also felt mounting pressure, mainly due to slowdown in demand in developed markets. The broker conservatively lowered its 2026/ 2027 net profit forecasts for MIDEA GROUP by 8% each.
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Regarding reports of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer's remarks that he will launch working-level talks with Beijing, He Yadong, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, was asked at a regular press conference whether China has any plans for the continued delay of the rare earth export controls.

He said China announced relevant export control and other measures on October 9, 2025, with implementation suspended until November 10, 2026, according to the consensus reached during the China-US economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur. Both sides will continue to maintain communication on respective concerns through the economic and trade consultation mechanism.
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TIANQI LITHIUM (09696.HK) said at its results briefing that, since entering 2Q26, tightness in lithium resource side supply has gradually become evident, according to Securities Times.

Given that the construction, operation resumption and output expansion cycles of lithium mines are longer than those of lithium salt processing stage, coupled with changes in the external environment and other factors, the Company expected lithium ore supply to remain tight in 1H26.

In the long run, the complementary necessity between new energy and traditional energy has become increasingly prominent, the Company added. Meanwhile, emerging application scenarios such as energy storage and robotics continue to emerge, driving sustained growth in demand for lithium salts and related key materials.

Over the next 3-5 years, the Company will closely follow cutting-edge industry development trends and align upstream key materials with next-generation technology routes such as solid-state batteries (SSBs), in order to provide the market with high-quality lithium products.
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Prosus, the internet flagship under South African media powerhouse Naspers and a major shareholder of TENCENT (00700.HK), sold around 13 million TENCENT shares in 1Q26.

Based on TENCENT's average closing price of HKD560.16 in 3M26, the sale was valued at around HKD7.28 billion. It would have reached about HKD6.29 billion even based on the closing price of HKD484 at the end of March.
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AgiBot officially released its new-generation embodied foundation model, Genie Operator-2 (GO-2), which is the first to unclog the "last mile" from logical reasoning to precise action execution within a unified architecture.

Trained on tens of thousands of hours of data, it has set new industry state-of-the-art (SOTA) records across multiple robot benchmark tests, enabling robots to move from "black-box exploration" toward true "integration of knowledge and action".
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The release of FY2025 results by Chinese independent power producers (IPPs) confirmed BofA Securities’ concerns regarding declining feed-in tariffs (FITs) and utilization hours, according to BofA Securities' research report. The broker favored hydropower > nuclear power > wind/solar > thermal IPPs, and downgraded HUADIAN POWER (01071.HK) to Underperform due to higher coal costs.

The wind power supply chain continued to benefit from growth in high-margin export business, thereby supporting BofA Securities’ Buy rating on ORIENT WIRES & CABLES (603606.SH) and its recent upgrade of GOLDWIND (02208.HK) to Buy.

The broker also reiterated ratings at Buy on EB ENVIRONMENT (00257.HK) and GUANGDONG INV (00270.HK) following their better-than-expected results. BofA Securities adjusted target prices for several stocks in the sector, as detailed below:

Stock | Rating | TP (HKD)
CGN POWER (01816.HK) | Underperform | 2.5 -> 3
CGN (003816.SZ) | Underperform | RMB3.1 -> RMB3.7
HUADIAN POWER (01071.HK) | Neutral -> Underperform | 4.3 -> 3.5
HUADIAN INTERNATIONAL (600027.SH)|Neutral->Underperform| RMB5.1 -> RMB4.1
CHINA LONGYUAN (00916.HK)|Underperform|6.1 ->5.8
LONGYUAN POWER (001289.SZ)|Underperform|RMB13.7 -> RMB12.8
DATANG RENEW (01798.HK) | Underperform | 1.9 -> 1.55
GUIGUAN ELEC POWER (600236.SH) | Buy | RMB11.3 -> RMB11.5
POWER ASSETS (00006.HK) | Buy | 63 -> 63.5
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Yushu Technology (Unitree Robotics) and BABA-W (09988.HK) are mulling an important overseas strategic cooperation, Chinese media reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Its latest robot model, R1, recently appeared at Alibaba Xixi Campus, in preparation for a new project named "Shu Maitong".

The project is reportedly slated to be officially unveiled at a brand conference in Shenzhen in mid-month. The cooperation is highly likely to be related to AliExpress, Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce platform, sources close to Alibaba were quoted in the report as analyzing.
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PONY-W (02026.HK), in partnership with autonomous mobility service provider Verne and global mobility platform Uber (UBER.US), commenced commercial Robotaxi operations in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, marking the first publicly available commercial Robotaxi service in Europe.

With immediate effect, residents of Zagreb can book rides via the Verne app, with the service to be integrated into the Uber app at a later stage.
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The outlook for Chinese airlines has further deteriorated, with the anticipated short-lived recovery likely coming to an abrupt halt, DBS Group Research said in a research report. The industry is once again facing margin pressure, not only due to elevated jet fuel prices but also because of the rapid pace of the increase, making it difficult for airfares to offset the rise.

DBS believed street consensus remains overly optimistic. It foresaw that Chinese SOE airlines will record substantial losses this year, with a profit recovery likely to be delayed until 2027. As a result, downside risks to earnings and valuations remain elevated, which may continue to weigh on share price performance.

DBS maintained Sell on CHINA SOUTH AIR (01055.HK), lowering its TP from HKD3.6 to HKD3.4. For SOUTHERN AIRLINES (600029.SH), the rating was Sell with a TP of RMB5.5.
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Hong Kong stocks softened at open this morning (9th). The HSI opened 136 points or 0.5% lower at 25,756. The HSCEI opened 53 points or 0.6% lower at 8,623. The HSTECH opened 54 points or 1.1% lower at 4,868.

WTI crude oil posted its largest single-day drop since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on Wednesday, but reports indicate that the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked now. CNOOC (00883.HK) rebounded 1.3% this morning, making it the best-performing blue chip. PETROCHINA (00857.HK) opened flat at $10.56, while SINOPEC CORP (00386.HK) ebbed 0.4%. Gold miners ZIJIN MINING (02899.HK), LINGBAO GOLD (03330.HK) and CHINAGOLDINTL (02099.HK) shed 1.8% to -2.8%.

It is reported that BABA-W (09988.HK) established a new Group Technology Committee, upgraded its Tongyi Large Model Business Unit, and accelerated AI development. However, its share price cascaded 2.7%, making it the worst-performing blue chip.

Other techs also weakened, with TENCENT (00700.HK) sliding 0.3%. KUAISHOU-W (01024.HK) waned 2.5%, while MEITUAN-W (03690.HK) lost 1.4%. JD-SW (09618.HK) faded 1.7%. For chip stocks, HUA HONG SEMI (01347.HK) shrank 2.2%, while AI stock KNOWLEDGE ATLAS (02513.HK) mounted 3.3%.
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China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) announced on Thursday (9th) that the central parity of USD/ RMB added 31 bps from the previous day to 6.8649.
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The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted a seven-day reverse repo operation of RMB500 million in the open market today (9th), with the operating rate unchanged at 1.4%. RMB500 million of reverse repos matured today.
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Samsung Electronics' China strategy will undergo reshuffle, and it may retain only its mobile phone and memory businesses in the future, shifting its focus toward memory and other semiconductor operations, China Business Network reported, citing people with the knowledge of the matter.

Samsung Electronics' home appliance business in mainland China has continued to shrink, and it may transition to an agency model in 2H26.
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With this year marking the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the Cyberspace Administration of China stressed at the national conference on internet rule of law held in Beijing yesterday (8th) that it is imperative to advance key internet legislation, expand foreign-related internet rule-of-law initiatives, and further improve the online legal and regulatory framework.

In addition, efforts should be paid on law enforcement, internet enforcement in key areas, consolidation of the online enforcement work foundation, and supervision and guidance improvement.
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