HK Stock Market Move | The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388) rose nearly 2% in the afternoon, with a 24% year-on-year increase in net profit for the first half of the year, reaching a record high for any half-year period.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (00388) rose nearly 2% in the afternoon, and as of the time of writing, it was up 1.73% at HK$412, with a trading volume of HK$941 million. On the news front, HKEX released its mid-year results for 2026, with both revenue and profit hitting record highs for a half-year period, surpassing the previous record set in the second half of 2025. Specifically, for the first half of the year, revenue and other income totaled HK$16.702 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 19%; attributable profit to shareholders was HK$10.568 billion, up 24% year-on-year; and it proposed an interim dividend of HK$7.43 per share. Second-quarter revenue and other income amounted to HK$8.499 billion, an 18% year-on-year increase; attributable profit to shareholders was HK$5.38 billion, up 21% year-on-year. Goldman Sachs released a research report stating that it expects HKEX's stock price to respond positively to its second-quarter results. The second-quarter net profit was HK$5.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21% and a sequential increase of 4%, which exceeded the bank's and the market's expectations by 11% and 15%, respectively. Revenue (excluding investment income) was 5% higher than the bank's expectations, and investment income was also above expectations, driven by fair value gains from investments in unlisted companies. The rating is "Buy," with a target price of HK$540.