[ET Net News Agency, 24 July 2026] The situation in the Middle East has worsened, with the front expanding from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. The Yemeni Houthi armed group claimed to have attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea, triggering a sharp rise in oil prices, with Brent crude futures surging 7% to break through the 100 USD mark. Panic sentiment mounted rapidly, causing European and US stock markets to plummet across the board overnight. Asia-Pacific stock markets all headed downwards this morning, among which Korea stocks dropped 5%. The HSI broke below the 25,000-point mark immediately at the market open, standing at 24,891 at half-day, down 318 points or 1.3%, with main board turnover exceeding 117.1 billion HKD. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index stood at 8,258, down 94 points or 1.1%. The Hang Seng Tech Index stood at 4,619, down 79 points or 1.7%.
"Wan Kong Shing: Beware of Hong Kong stocks turning into a global ATM as inflation rebounds"
Wan Kong Shing, the Chief Investment Officer of iFAST Global Markets, stated that Hong Kong stocks had already achieved a turnover in July, as the HSI had rebounded from 22,000 to the 25,000 mark. However, the 100-day moving average (around 25,202) continued to pose resistance this week. The index's prolonged inability to break through the resistance level will weaken the momentum of the bull market, severing the upward pattern since July. Regarding fundamentals, the market is also concerned that the ongoing war in the Middle East will lead to a tightening of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, and Hong Kong stocks will once again turn into a "global ATM", facing capital outflow challenges. Given that international oil prices have returned to the 100 USD mark and global inflation risks have re-emerged, Wan suggests that Hong Kong stock investors have no reason to add to their positions at the current stage.
In addition, Google's parent company Alphabet announced its quarterly results, suffering from massive capital expenditure, resulting in negative net cash flow, meaning spending exceeded income, which caused Alphabet's share price to drop sharply. The same problem will also occur in Mainland China tech and internet stocks; for instance, Tencent (00700) plans to double its annual overseas infrastructure investment over the next three years under Tencent Cloud, to which the market reaction was rather negative, dragging down the broader Hong Kong market performance. It is expected that the market will further adjust to the range of 24,000 to 24,500 subsequently, with the next support level reaching 23,800. However, Wan reminded that while the market rose on the previous day, turnover shrank; Hong Kong stocks mostly decline in August and September, and coupled with the Federal Reserve's rate meeting next week and the announcement of results for other heavyweight US stocks, investors buying low must be mentally prepared for market volatility.
"HSBC's current price yield is no longer attractive"
HSBC (00005) broke through 160 HKD yesterday to hit a record high since listing, falling back by about 1% this morning. Wan stated that buying HSBC at its current price is not recommended, as the dividend yield has fallen back to 3.67%, which is not attractive enough compared to other Hong Kong bank stocks. Those holding shares can continue to "fly the kite", meaning watching the price to trim positions at opportune times, recovering capital and locking in gains already made. Wan particularly mentioned that HSBC has recently technically exhibited a pattern of bouncing back the day after a drop; if investors notice a consecutive drop in HSBC in the subsequent market, they should pay prompt attention to whether there are abnormal movements in the bank's fundamentals, and exit the market if necessary.
"Wan Kong Shing: Beware of Hong Kong stocks turning into a global ATM as inflation rebounds"
Wan Kong Shing, the Chief Investment Officer of iFAST Global Markets, stated that Hong Kong stocks had already achieved a turnover in July, as the HSI had rebounded from 22,000 to the 25,000 mark. However, the 100-day moving average (around 25,202) continued to pose resistance this week. The index's prolonged inability to break through the resistance level will weaken the momentum of the bull market, severing the upward pattern since July. Regarding fundamentals, the market is also concerned that the ongoing war in the Middle East will lead to a tightening of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, and Hong Kong stocks will once again turn into a "global ATM", facing capital outflow challenges. Given that international oil prices have returned to the 100 USD mark and global inflation risks have re-emerged, Wan suggests that Hong Kong stock investors have no reason to add to their positions at the current stage.
In addition, Google's parent company Alphabet announced its quarterly results, suffering from massive capital expenditure, resulting in negative net cash flow, meaning spending exceeded income, which caused Alphabet's share price to drop sharply. The same problem will also occur in Mainland China tech and internet stocks; for instance, Tencent (00700) plans to double its annual overseas infrastructure investment over the next three years under Tencent Cloud, to which the market reaction was rather negative, dragging down the broader Hong Kong market performance. It is expected that the market will further adjust to the range of 24,000 to 24,500 subsequently, with the next support level reaching 23,800. However, Wan reminded that while the market rose on the previous day, turnover shrank; Hong Kong stocks mostly decline in August and September, and coupled with the Federal Reserve's rate meeting next week and the announcement of results for other heavyweight US stocks, investors buying low must be mentally prepared for market volatility.
"HSBC's current price yield is no longer attractive"
HSBC (00005) broke through 160 HKD yesterday to hit a record high since listing, falling back by about 1% this morning. Wan stated that buying HSBC at its current price is not recommended, as the dividend yield has fallen back to 3.67%, which is not attractive enough compared to other Hong Kong bank stocks. Those holding shares can continue to "fly the kite", meaning watching the price to trim positions at opportune times, recovering capital and locking in gains already made. Wan particularly mentioned that HSBC has recently technically exhibited a pattern of bouncing back the day after a drop; if investors notice a consecutive drop in HSBC in the subsequent market, they should pay prompt attention to whether there are abnormal movements in the bank's fundamentals, and exit the market if necessary.
