Key Takeaways:
- HSI closes 124 points higher at 26,009, with turnover of HK$255.2 billion
- Alibaba jumps 7 percent on Qwen 3.8-Max launch; solar names surge on SAMR guidance
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Hong Kong stocks regain 26,000 as Alibaba AI rally lifts tech
The Hang Seng Index rose 124 points, or 0.5 percent, to 26,009 on Monday, reclaiming the 26,000 mark on the first trading day of August as Alibaba Group's new AI model lifted technology shares.
Citi upgraded Xinyi Solar to Buy after the glassmaker's results, helping the stock jump 13.4 percent to lead the benchmark, while UBS cut its price target on Xiaomi after the smartphone maker announced price increases of as much as 500 yuan.
The Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 1 percent to 4,875, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 0.5 percent to 8,652. Turnover reached HK$255.2 billion. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6 percent to 3,809 and the Shenzhen Component dropped 1 percent to 13,448.
Alibaba's Qwen 3.8-Max launch makes the company a leading Chinese AI player, while the State Administration for Market Regulation's price guidance for the photovoltaic industry triggered a broad solar rally — two developments that could sustain upside in Hong Kong-listed tech and clean-energy names.
Alibaba's Qwen 3.8-Max Drives Tech Rally
Alibaba (阿里巴巴, 9988.HK) closed 7 percent higher at HK$125.2 after unveiling Qwen 3.8-Max, its largest AI model with 2.4 trillion parameters and 95 billion active parameters in a mixture-of-experts design. The model, built on the Qwen 3.5 architecture, handles text, images and video while processing up to 1 million tokens at once, and its weights will be released as open source next week. Alibaba said benchmark tests showed the model was broadly competitive with leading U.S. systems from OpenAI and Anthropic.
The launch lifted other internet names. Tencent Holdings (騰訊控股, 0700.HK) rose 3.2 percent, Baidu (百度, 9888.HK) added 3.8 percent, and Kuaishou (快手, 1024.HK) climbed 3 percent. JD.com (京東, 9618.HK) and Meituan (美團, 3690.HK) gained more than 1 percent each. Xiaomi (小米, 1810.HK) bucked the trend, falling 2.9 percent after announcing price increases of as much as 500 yuan for premium smartphone models, with UBS citing persistently high memory costs and weak end-market demand.
Solar Surges, Autos and Metals Slip
China's State Administration for Market Regulation issued price compliance guidance for the photovoltaic industry, boosting solar stocks. Xinyi Solar (信義光能, 0968.HK) jumped 13.4 percent to be the best-performing blue chip after Citi upgraded the stock to Buy following its results. GCL Technology (協鑫科技, 3800.HK) surged 11.5 percent and Flat Glass (福萊特玻璃, 6865.HK) climbed 11.2 percent.
Auto stocks were mixed. Li Auto (理想汽車, 2015.HK) fell 2.9 percent and Geely Auto (吉利汽車, 0175.HK) declined 1.1 percent, while BYD (比亞迪, 1211.HK) edged up 0.8 percent. Metal and resource names came under pressure, with China Hongqiao (中國宏橋, 1378.HK) retreating 6.4 percent and Chalco (中國鋁業, 2600.HK) dropping 2.4 percent. PetroChina (中國石油, 0857.HK) and Sinopec (中國石化, 0386.HK) each lost more than 1 percent.
The divergence between the AI-driven tech rally and the slide in metals shows the rotation under way in Hong Kong, where investors favor names tied to artificial intelligence and clean-energy policy over cyclical resource plays. Alibaba's plan to exceed its 380 billion yuan ($55.96 billion) AI investment over the next three years, and the SAMR's push to stabilize solar pricing, give both sectors a policy and earnings tailwind into the second half.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
[1] ＜H Shrs＞HSI Ends Up 124 Pts, Reclaims 26,000; BABA-W Leaps 7%; XINYI SOLAR Swells 13%+ Post-results[2] Hang Seng Index regains the 26,000-point mark on Monday[3] Alibaba unveils Qwen 3.8-MAX AI model; shares jump[4] Alibaba Unveils New AI Model, Rivaling Kimi with 2.4 Trillion Parameters[5] Alibaba's latest AI model shows China's race with US AI giants is far from over
