Hong Kong stocks close higher after AI share lockups end: CGTN analyst

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed higher on Monday as share lockups in two major tech companies come to an end, said Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).

The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 1.14 percent in Monday trading to finish at 23,616.32 points.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 1.46 percent to 7,812.35 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index edged up 0.94 percent to 4,541.23 points.

Two of China's leading AI companies, Knowledge Atlas (Zhipu) and MiniMax, joined the Hang Seng Tech Index in early June.

Pope said that the two newly-listed companies slid sharply from recent highs as lockups of their shares come to an end this week.

"It's going to be a pretty interesting week in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng advanced 1.1 percent today but we saw two of its biggest recent additions sliding pretty sharply. These are both AI companies - MiniMax was down 3.4 percent and Knowledge Atlas Technologies fell 14.7 percent. That's because this week is going to be a real test for the stock price and market cap of these two firms. Both of them are down off their recent highs but MiniMax stocks are up 53 percent since they listed on January 9. Knowledge Atlas shares are up 1,253 percent since they listed on Jan 8 and the reason that this matters this week is that the share lockups are ending. For Knowledge Atlas, 6 percent of outstanding shares will become tradable, while for MiniMax a whopping 45 percent are going to leave lockup. That's shareholders who are looking at some very respectable gains since listing and who've been unable to cash in until now," he said.

Pope also highlighted some new IPOs this week on the Hong Kong market.

"Also this week in Hong Kong we've got IPO action. I did say it was a big week. On Wednesday we'll see Chinese autonomous-driving and robo-taxi company Momenta Global start trading. It raised 750 million US dollars in an IPO which valued the firm at around 9 billion. And one of Apple's contract iPhone manufacturers, Luxshare Precision, is also coming to Hong Kong. This one is a secondary listing as Luxshare already trades in Shenzhen. It’s going to finalize its offering price tomorrow, make allocations on Wednesday and it will start trading on Thursday," he said.

Hong Kong stocks close higher after AI share lockups end: CGTN analyst

At least 68 people were killed in a collision between two high-speed trains on the railway line linking Madrid with the southern region of Andalusia on Wednesday morning, Spanish media reported.

The accident occurred at around 8:54 a.m. local time (0754 GMT) near Urda station in the province of Toledo, about 120 km south of Madrid.

The collision involved a train operated by state-owned railway company Renfe and another operated by private company Iryo.

Preliminary reports suggested that the Renfe train struck the rear of the Iryo train, which had reportedly been stationary on the tracks. Two carriages derailed and plunged down an embankment.

The Chinese Embassy in Spain has confirmed that four Chinese nationals were aboard the trains involved in the collision, with at least one sustaining minor injury.

Spanish railway infrastructure operator Adif confirmed that the accident prompted the suspension of rail services between Madrid and Andalusia.

Political parties across Spain cancelled scheduled activities on Wednesday, while officials expressed their condolences and support for those affected.

"Shocked by the serious train accident in Toledo," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on social media, adding that emergency services are on the ground to assist those impacted.

The collision came just nine months after another major railway accident near Adamuz, in the southern province of Cordoba, which killed 46 people.

At least 68 killed in high-speed train collision in Spain