In 2025, the Hong Kong stock market gradually emerged from its trough after a series of volatile swings, showing a slow bull market with "initial suppression, followed by a rise, and structural divergence" characteristics. By mid-December, all three major core indices had recorded substantial gains, with the Hang Seng Index rising about 26% year-to-date, the Hang Seng Tech Index and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index both outperforming by over 20%. The market's risk appetite has notably recovered compared to the previous two years.

From the perspective of the overall market trend, Hong Kong stocks extended the recovery at the beginning of the year, but were temporarily pressured by external policy disruptions. In March and April, global stock markets generally pulled back, putting short-term pressure on Hong Kong stocks. As the Sino-U.S. trade relations gradually improved and southbound funds continued to flow in, market confidence rebounded quarter by quarter. In the second half of the year, structural market trends took the lead, with certain sectors and individual stocks significantly outperforming the broader market, forming a clear "growth leaders" line in the context of index recovery.

Growth Leaderboard Scan: Biotech Recovery and Gold Stocks Continue to Soar

Looking back at the 2025 Hong Kong stock annual growth leaderboard, the biotech and gold sectors formed the clearest and most elastic growth drivers of the year.

After years of valuation compression, the biotech sector experienced a significant rebound in 2025. The gradual realization of R&D pipelines, improved approval timelines, and a recovery in market risk appetite all contributed to the return of funds to the innovative drug sector. Many pharmaceutical stocks performed exceptionally well, becoming the biggest winners of the year.

Among them, Yaojie Ankang-B became a phenomenon. Since its listing, the stock has surged about 1498%, nearly 15 times its initial price, briefly topping the Hong Kong stock market growth leaderboard. Its stock price quickly spiked before showing significant volatility, reflecting both the explosive potential of scarce innovative drug targets in the face of fund chasing and the volatility risks of high-elasticity stocks in liquidity-driven games. In addition to Yaojie Ankang, companies like HeBo Pharma-B, XuanZhu Biotech-B, RongChang Biotech, and Galaxo Pharmaceuticals-B also posted several-fold gains, driving the entire biotech sector to significantly outperform the market.

At the same time, the gold and precious metals sector continued to strengthen against the backdrop of rising global uncertainties. Geopolitical conflicts and inflation expectations kept demand for safe-haven assets high, with international gold prices trading at historical highs throughout the year, boosting the performance of Hong Kong gold stocks.

Annual Growth Leaders Overview (as of mid-December)

In the context of index recovery and structural market trends, several stocks with significant growth emerged in 2025 across various sectors such as biotech, resources, technology, and finance:

(Data source: Comprehensive from HKEX and public market information, statistics as of mid-December 2025)

Growth Structure Analysis:

From the growth structure, high-elasticity innovative drugs and cyclical resource sectors dominate the leaderboard, while technology and finance leaders play more of a role in "stabilizing the index's core."

Performance of Leading Stocks: Resources, Finance, and Internet Stocks Lead the Recovery

When shifting the focus from high-elasticity individual stocks to heavyweight leaders, the "foundation" of the Hong Kong stock market's rise in 2025 becomes clearer.

In the resources sector, Zijin Mining stood out. Benefiting from the continued strength in the prices of gold, copper, and other commodities, the company's stock price surged over 140% for the year, significantly boosting its market capitalization and becoming an important driver of the Hang Seng Index and Hang Seng China Enterprises Index's rise. Its global resource layout and improved profitability further strengthened market recognition of long-term value in cyclical sector leaders.

In the tech sector, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), benefiting from expectations of domestic substitution and capacity expansion, saw its stock price nearly double. HuaHong Semiconductor, driven by a recovery in demand for mature process technologies, also became one of the leading semiconductor stocks.

Amid increased market volatility, there was a notable rise in funds' allocation to high-dividend, stable earnings assets. Insurance and banking sectors, which are high-yield, continued to receive strong attention, with industry leaders such as China Life, China Ping An, AIA Insurance, and HSBC holding up steadily with solid growth throughout the year.

A+H Dual Listing and Internet Sector Recovery Stand Out in the Second Half

It is worth noting that the Hong Kong IPO market continued to warm up in 2025, with many A-share leading companies choosing to list in Hong Kong. Under the "A+H" dual-listing trend, high-quality manufacturing companies attracted attention from overseas funds. Some newly listed H-shares even saw near doubling of their stock prices, and in some cases, H-shares were trading at a premium. This reflects the marginal improvement in international investors' pricing logic for core Chinese assets.

In the internet sector, with the policy environment stabilizing and companies' earnings showing marginal improvement, leading platform companies saw a valuation recovery. Major companies like Alibaba, Tencent, and NetEase rebounded significantly in the second half, becoming important support for the fourth-quarter market performance.

Outlook: Structural Opportunities Remain the Main Line

Looking ahead, in the medium to long term, Hong Kong stocks will continue to be influenced by both foreign capital flows and southbound fund allocation cycles. Institutions generally believe that a full market-wide bull run still requires stronger liquidity or profit-driven momentum, but structural opportunities remain clear.

In terms of asset allocation, high-dividend assets and technology-focused stocks are still viewed as the foundational allocation direction. Meanwhile, innovative drugs, AI, and strong cyclical sectors rely more on industry-specific catalysts and emotional resonance in the short term. Overall, Hong Kong stocks are transitioning from "sentiment-driven recovery" to "fundamental pricing," and while market rhythm may still fluctuate, the market direction is becoming clearer.