Hong Kong Stock Market Morning Report | US WTI crude oil rises above $100 for the first time in nearly four years | Ant Fortune completes equity transfer for the acquisition of Hong Kong Yao Cai Securities

Hot Topics in Focus

1、The State Administration for Market Regulation has issued a notice on further implementing the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China. The notice mentions conducting comprehensive efforts to address “involution-style” competition. It will make comprehensive use of various anti-unfair competition measures, with a focus on preventing and tackling “involution-style” competition in key industries and sectors such as the platform economy, solar power, lithium batteries, and new-energy vehicles.

2、Iran’s Parliament’s National Security Committee has approved a bill to charge ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. The planned provisions include implementing financial arrangements and a charging system in the form of Iranian rials; banning U.S. and Israeli ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, among other measures.

3、On March 30, U.S. President Trump posted on a social media platform saying that if an agreement cannot be reached in the short term, and if the Strait of Hormuz does not immediately resume navigation, we will destroy and completely wipe out all of Iran’s power plants, oil wells, and Halq Island by bombing—possibly also including all seawater desalination plants. U.S. White House press secretary Leavitt said that dialogue between the two sides of the U.S. and Iran is still ongoing and progress is going smoothly. Trump hopes to reach an agreement with Iran before an April 6 deadline. Leavitt also said Trump intends to call on Arab countries to bear the costs of the U.S. military actions against Iran.

4、The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and the Malaysia Exchange have recently signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation. The two parties plan to launch a new index—the Hang Seng Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Malaysia Exchange Large-Cap Index. The index tracks 60 listed companies jointly on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and the Malaysia Exchange. Ranked by market capitalization, each exchange selects the top 30 listed companies. Of those, listed companies on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and on the Malaysia Exchange will have weightings of 60% and 40%, respectively. Chen Yiting, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Group, said: “The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited is committed to building a diversified asset ecosystem. By launching a jointly branded index and signing a memorandum of understanding, we mark a new step forward in regional connectivity and mutual market access, which can bring tangible benefits to the market.”

5、Recently, it is reported that the public offering of new shares in Hong Kong IPO newcomer Fourier recorded more than 3,000 times oversubscription, with an amount exceeding HK$90 billion, becoming this year’s oversubscription champion among Hong Kong stock IPOs in the 18C chip sector. Global long-term funds such as Millennium, VanCapital, Schonfeld, Ghisallo, and Jump Trading actively participated.

Global Markets

On Monday, the three major U.S. stock indexes moved in different directions. By the close, the Dow Jones rose 0.11%, the Nasdaq fell 0.73%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.39%.

Most large technology stocks fell. Meta rose 2.03%, Amazon rose 0.81%, Microsoft rose 0.61%, Tesla fell 1.81%, Nvidia fell 1.4%, Google A fell 0.31%, and Apple fell 0.87%.

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed down 0.36%. Among popular China concept stocks, Pony.ai fell 6.6%, Linklogis fell 6%, Xiaomi fell 2.2%, Tencent fell 1.8%, PDD Holdings fell 1.4%, Alibaba fell 0.6%, and NIO rose 3.8%.

Due to Trump’s threat to further escalate attacks, including targeting key energy infrastructure in Tehran, international oil prices moved higher. The May WTI crude oil futures settlement price closed at $102.88 per barrel, the highest level since July 2022, up 3.25%.

In Hong Kong stocks, all three major indexes were weak on Monday, with the Hang Seng Index down 0.81%. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 1.84%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.65%.

Judging by market performance, gold and nonferrous metals stocks strengthened, while home appliances, pork, and software stocks declined.

Company News

Xinhua Insurance (01336.HK): At the 2025 annual performance release meeting, Chen Yijiang, President of Xinhua Asset Management and Chairman of Xinhua Asset (Hong Kong), said that Xinhua Insurance is actively responding to the call for medium- and long-term funds to enter the market. It has set up a pilot fund for long-term investment reform with peer investment institutions. To date, it has already accumulated an investment amount of RMB 46.25 billion.

Knight Securities Finance (01428.HK): Ant Wealth has officially successfully acquired 50.55% equity interest in the company for HK$2.81B. In April 2025, Shanghai Yunjin Information Technology Co., Ltd. announced through its subsidiaries that it would acquire 50.55% of Knight Securities for HK$3.28 per share. After one year, all necessary regulatory approvals and delivery-related prerequisites have been satisfied. New board members have been appointed: Zheng Yanlan as an executive director, and Huang Hao, Liu Zheng, and Lin Zhiqiu as non-executive directors.

Agricultural Bank of China (01288.HK): In 2025, revenue was RMB 725.13B, up 1.92% year over year; net profit was RMB 291.04B, up 3.18% year over year.

SF Holding (06936.HK): In 2025, revenue was RMB 308.23B, up 8.37% year over year; net profit was RMB 11.69B, up 14.35% year over year.

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