2nd March 2026 – (Hong Kong) Hang Seng Index came under heavy pressure at the start of March as the resurgence of conflict in the Middle East weighed on sentiment. After opening 324 points lower at 26,305, the benchmark extended losses to 714 points, or 2.68 per cent, to 25,915. The China Enterprises Index fell 219 points, or 2.47 per cent, to 8,640, while the Tech Index dropped 163 points, or 3.18 per cent, to 4,974. Main board turnover reached HK$116.2 billion.
Large-cap technology shares weakened, with Tencent down 2.0 per cent, Alibaba off 4.5 per cent, Meituan lower by 3.3 per cent, Xiaomi falling 4.9 per cent, JD.com down 3.5 per cent and Kuaishou sliding 4.1 per cent. Financials also declined, as HSBC and AIA each dropped 4.1 per cent, Standard Chartered fell 4.7 per cent, Ping An slipped 3.6 per cent and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing lost 2.7 per cent.
In contrast, oil counters outperformed on a sharp rise in global crude prices. CNOOC rose 2.6 per cent and PetroChina added 1.7 per cent, while Sinopec was little changed. Oilfield services rallied strongly, with BQ Oil Services up 18.3 per cent and Sinopec Oilfield Service gaining 16.0 per cent.
Although bullion strengthened, gold miners reversed earlier gains: Zijin Mining fell 1.5 per cent, Zijin Gold International eased 0.7 per cent, Zhaojin Mining slipped 0.3 per cent and Shandong Gold declined 1.4 per cent.
