Biren’s IPO Ignites AI & Growth Stocks, Week in Review

Week in Review

• Asian equities were mostly higher In a shortened week as 2025 turned into 2026 and Pakistan and Korea outperformed, while Thailand and Australia underperformed.
• Purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) for December beat expectations this week as China's currency, the renminbi (CNY), continued to appreciate beyond 7 per US dollar, both indicating a strengthening economy going into the new year.
• Auto stocks had a decent week as trade-in subsidies were extended into 2026 and manufacturers reported December and full year 2025 vehicle deliveries.
• The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released safety standards for humanoid robots, representing one of the world's first attempts at robotics governance.

Friday's Key News

Asia had a strong start to 2026 as Hong Kong and South Korea outperformed, while Mainland China, Japan, and Thailand remained closed for New Year’s. Local trading in China's currency, the renminbi (CNY), was closed today. However, the offshore renminbi (CNH) was open for trading and closed at a new 52 week high of 6.97 per US dollar.

Let’s not bury the lead as AI software company Biren Technology’s IPO (6082 HK) soared +75.82% after the company raised $707 million, giving the company a market cap of $10.42 billion. The AI enthusiasm will continue with next week’s IPOs of AI software companies MiniMax and Zhipu, which is officially known as Knowledge Atlas Technology.

The AI theme continued after Baidu gained +9.35% before filing for a Hong Kong IPO for its Kunlun AI chip unit. The AI enthusiasm lifted growth stocks, as Hong Kong’s most heavily traded stocks by value were Tencent, which gained 4.01%, and Alibaba, which gained 4.34%. However, it was an extensive rally, as advancers outpaced decliners by 4 to 1. Insurance and non-ferrous metals outperformed.

Technology hardware and household appliances outperformed. Midea gained +5.12% and Haier gained +4.20% after Wednesday’s official confirmation that consumer trade-in subsidies would be continued in 2026.

Autos were mixed after December sales data was released in the morning, before the market opened. BYD gained +3.57% on December sales of 420,398 units, representing a decrease of -18% year-over-year (YoY) and 2025 full-year sales of 4.6 million. XPeng gained +1.26% on December sales of 116,249 units, representing an increase of +2% year-over-year (YoY). NIO gained +0.88% on fourth quarter sales of 124,807. Great Wall Motors fell -1.18% on December sales of 124,020 units, representing a decline of -8% YoY. Li Auto gained +4.93%, battery maker CATL gained +1.78%, and Geely Auto gained +1.68%

President Trump delayed certain tariff increases for upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities for a year. This was widely picked up in Mainland media outlets and positioned as a potential sign of the trade truce having legs.

Last Night's Performance

Country / Index	Ticker	1-Day Change
China (Hong Kong)	HSI Index	-0.7%
Hang Seng Tech	HSTECH Index	-0.3%
Hong Kong Turnover	HKTurn Index	142.6%
Hong Kong Short Sale Turnover	HKSST Index	151.1%
Short Turnover as a % of Hong Kong Turnover	N/A	14.3%
Southbound Stock Connect Net Buy/Sell (US $ Millions)	N/A	Closed
China (Shanghai)	SHCOMP Index	Closed
China (Shenzhen)	SZCOMP Index	Closed
China (STAR Board)	Star50 Index	Closed
Mainland Turnover	.chturn Index	-0.9%
Northbound Stock Connect Net Buy/Sell (US $ Millions)	N/A	Not Available
Jing Daily China Global Luxury Index	CHINALUX Index	-0.1%
Japan	NKY Index	Closed
India	SENSEX Index	-0.4%
Indonesia	JCI Index	1.2%
Malaysia	FBMKLCI Index	0.2%
Pakistan	KSE100 Index	0.8%
Philippines	PCOMP Index	-0.2%
South Korea	KOSPI Index	2.2%
Taiwan	TWSE Index	0.9%
Thailand	SET Index	Closed
Singapore	STI Index	-0.1%
Australia	AS51 Index	-0.4%
Vietnam	VNINDEX Index	1.4%

Indicator	Hong Kong	Mainland China
Today's Volume as % of 1-Year Average	56	Closed
Advancing Stocks	397	Closed
Declining Stocks	92	Closed
Outperforming Factors	Liquidity, Growth, EPS Revisions	Closed
Underperforming Factors	Value	Closed
Top Sectors	Communication Services, Materials, Consumer Discretionary	Closed
Bottom Sectors	Consmer Staples, Materials, Utilities	Closed
Top Subsectors	Semiconductors, Aerospace, Software	Closed
Bottom Subsectors	(None, Low Volume)	Closed
Southbound Connect Buys	Closed	N/A
Southbound Connect Sells	Closed	N/A

MSCI China All Shares Index	# of Stocks	Average 1-Day Change (%)
Hong Kong Listed	151	3.06
Communication Services	9	4.34
Consumer Discretionary	28	3.36
Consumer Staples	13	1.49
Energy	7	1.47
Financials	23	1.82
Health Care	13	2.19
Industrials	20	1.46
Information Technology	10	3.25
Materials	10	3.39
Real Estate	6	1.25
Utilities	12	0.47
Mainland China Listed	404	0
Communication Services	6	0
Consumer Discretionary	31	0
Consumer Staples	24	0
Energy	13	0
Financials	64	0
Health Care	31	0
Industrials	64	0
Information Technology	91	0
Materials	58	0
Real Estate	6	0
Utilities	16	0

US & Hong Kong Dually Listed	Ticker	1-Day Change (%)
Tencent HK	700 HK Equity	4
Alibaba HK	9988 HK Equity	4.3
JD.com HK	9618 HK Equity	3.1
NetEase HK	9999 HK Equity	6.6
Yum China HK	9987 HK Equity	-1.2
Baozun HK	9991 HK Equity	-3
Baidu HK	9888 HK Equity	9.4
Autohome HK	2518 HK Equity	0.3
Bilibili HK	9626 HK Equity	3.5
Trip.com HK	9961 HK Equity	5.2
EDU HK	9901 HK Equity	7.1
Xpeng HK	9868 HK Equity	1.3
Weibo HK	9898 HK Equity	-0.7
Li Auto HK	2015 HK Equity	4.9
Nio Auto HK	9866 HK Equity	0.9
Zhihu HK	2390 HK Equity	0
KE HK	2423 HK Equity	2
Tencent Music Entertainment HK	1698 HK Equity	-0.2
Meituan HK	3690 HK Equity	1.3

Hong Kong's Most Heavily Traded by Value	1-Day Change (%)
SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURI-H	5.1
TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD	4
ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD	4.3
CHINA MOBILE LTD-H	2.1
HUA HONG SEMICONDUCTOR LTD-H	9.4
XIAOMI CORP-CLASS B	2.5
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC	1.6
MEITUAN-CLASS B	1.3
PING AN INSURANCE GROUP CO-H	2.5
YANGTZE OPTICAL FIBRE AND-H	1.4

Last Night's Exchange Rates, Prices, & Yields

Mainland China's currency, commodity, and fixed income markets were closed overnight.