The decline in Hong Kong stocks once widened to over 400 points, with Longfor Properties plunging 7%. Some gold mining stocks hit record highs against the market trend, while Changfeng (02652.HK) surged nearly threefold on its debut.

The ongoing U.S. government shutdown has prompted investors to seek safe-haven assets, with gold futures prices breaching the $4,000 mark for the first time on Tuesday (7th), repeatedly hitting new highs. As China’s National Day Golden Week draws to a close, mainland stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen are set to resume trading tomorrow (9th). With the temporary halt of ‘northbound’ capital flows, Hong Kong stocks resumed trading after the holiday and opened 57 points lower this morning (8th). The decline widened significantly in early trading, falling as much as 440 points to reach an intraday low of 26,517. The losses subsequently narrowed slightly, with the latest quote at 26,675, down 282 points or approximately 1%. Turnover amounted to HKD 66.257 billion.

Real estate stocks remained weak. Longfor Properties (00960.HK) gapped down by 8.4% at the opening, touching a low of HKD 9.90; it currently trades at HKD 10.03, down 7.2%, making it the worst-performing blue-chip stock, with a turnover of HKD 108 million. China Resources Land (01109.HK) and China Overseas Land & Investment (00688.HK) each declined by approximately 1% to 2%.

Heavyweight technology stocks dragged the broader market lower. Meituan-W (03690.HK), Baidu-SW (09888.HK), Alibaba-W (09988.HK), JD.com-SW (09618.HK), and Kuaishou-W (01024.HK) fell between 2.3% and 2.7%. Additionally, SenseTime-W (00020.HK) is currently trading at HKD 2.73, down 5.21%, with a turnover of HKD 1.2 billion.

Pop Mart (09992.HK) is currently trading at HKD 251.40, down 1.95%, with a turnover of HKD 455 million.

Some gold mining stocks hit record highs against the market trend. Chifeng Gold (06693.HK) reached an all-time high of HKD 37.60 and is currently trading at HKD 37.34, up 12.54%, with a turnover of HKD 196 million. Shandong Gold (01787.HK) hit an intraday high of HKD 41.24, marking a historic peak, and is now trading at HKD 40.88, up 3.02%, with a turnover of HKD 113 million. Zhaojin Mining Industry (01818.HK) reached an all-time high of HKD 33.38 and is currently trading at HKD 33.24, up 0.73%, with a turnover of HKD 91.728 million. Tongguan Gold (00340.HK) touched HKD 3.18, its highest level in over 15 years, and is currently trading at HKD 3.10, up 2.31%, with a volume of 17.9754 million shares traded, representing a total value of HKD 55.6534 million. Lingbao Gold (03330.HK) also rose by 1.8%.

Zijin Gold International (02259.HK), a recent IPO, reached another record high of HKD 158.90 and is currently trading at HKD 155.80, up 5.84%, with a volume of 6.6965 million shares traded, amounting to HKD 1.041 billion.

China Gold International (02099.HK), World Gold Group (03939.HK), and Zijin Mining (02899.HK) each experienced minor declines of 0.2% to 0.6%.

In addition, Changfeng Pharmaceutical (02652.HK) debuted at HKD 47.00, nearly 2.2 times higher than its IPO price of HKD 14.75. It is currently trading at HKD 43.40, still 1.94 times above its IPO price, with a turnover of HKD 439 million.