Hong Kong's three major stock indices took a collective downturn by midday on September 10. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.29% to 24,949.52 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.07%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index also slipped 1.22% during the morning session.

Across the board, technology stocks saw widespread declines, with Alibaba and Meituan both shedding more than 3%. In contrast, oil-related stocks bucked the trend and moved higher, as PetroChina gained over 1%. The auto sector continued its downward trajectory, with NIO plunging more than 4%. Meanwhile, pork-related equities weakened, as Muyuan Foods declined by over 4%.

Oil stocks showed resilience, with PetroChina rising more than 1%. The military standoff between the US and Iran around the Strait of Hormuz shows no signs of easing, intensifying market concerns over potential disruptions to Middle East crude supply. International shipping data revealed that commercial vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped sharply to its lowest level since May. Driven by these geopolitical tensions, Brent crude surged as much as 4% intraday to $101.84 per barrel. Meanwhile, WTI crude settled up to $96.61 per barrel, marking a roughly three-and-a-half-month high.

The auto sector continued its slide, with NIO falling more than 4%. On September 7, the "Notice on Promoting Automobile Enterprises to Standardize Supplier Account Payable and Optimize Payment Term Management" was released, marking the first national-level document targeting payment terms for a specific industry. The policy's core upgrade shifts the 60-day payment term governance from corporate commitments and industry initiatives to a national departmental-level industry standard, while also closing loopholes in enforcement to address potential circumvention.

Pork stocks weakened, with Muyuan Foods falling over 4%. According to CITIC Securities research, hog prices continued to bottom out in the first half of 2026, with the average price in April dropping to 9.32 yuan per kilogram, marking a decade-low. Recent prices have remained volatile at low levels. At the listed company level, sector losses deepened quarter by quarter in H1 2026, putting overall earnings under pressure. However, the disparity in per-head profitability among listed companies remains wide. Lihua Shares and Muyuan Foods recorded per-head losses in Q2 2026 that were over 200 yuan ahead of the industry average, and more than 100 yuan ahead of some leading companies. Under deep losses, listed hog producers face increasing financial pressure. The sector's average debt-to-asset ratio stood at 65.11% at the end of Q2 2026, up 13.3 percentage points year-on-year and 2.74 percentage points quarter-on-quarter, while sow biological assets continued to be reduced. Looking ahead, hog prices in H2 2026 are expected to remain volatile below the cost line. However, with policies continuously constraining capacity expansion by leading enterprises, analysts estimate that production capacity will maintain a downward trend, and a favorable hog price cycle is anticipated by 2027. Given that the industry's fundamental bottom has already passed and reversal expectations are strengthening, the institution continues to recommend the sector.