Mixed corporate earnings performance in the US saw Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.US) disappoint the market with its quarterly results, weighing down on US stock futures and Asia-Pacific equities this morning (30th). However, Hong Kong stocks attracted buying interest. By midday, the HSI closed at 23,335, up 377 pts or 1.64%, with turnover at HKD107.055 billion. The HSCEI settled at 7,882, up 126 pts or 1.63%, while the HSTECH closed at 3,797, up 53 pts or 1.43%.

Major techs had a good run broadly. MEITUAN-W (03690.HK) surged 4.91%, while XIAOMI-W (01810.HK) rallied 4.36%. TENCENT (00700.HK), BABA-W (09988.HK), JD-SW (09618.HK), NTES (09999.HK) and KUAISHOU-W (01024.HK) gained over 2%.

Among blue chips, MENGNIU DAIRY (02319.HK) was the best performer, jumping up 7.11% by midday, after brokers said recovering milk prices may improve profitability. NEW ORIENTAL-S (09901.HK) picked up 6.58% after Daiwa said concerns over the company's 1Q27 profit margin had been overinterpreted. AIA (01299.HK) mounted 3.63%, with Goldman Sachs saying that although VONB shrank in 3Q26, August and September showed a growth inflection point. BYD COMPANY (01211.HK) fell 0.51% after brokers said quarterly results missed. CHINA UNICOM (00762.HK) added 1.56% after Citi said its results were broadly in line. CHALCO (02600.HK) swelled 3.32% after UBS said quarterly results slightly beat. LENOVO GROUP (00992.HK) slipped 4.34%, making it the worst-performing blue chip, after Intel (INTC.US) plunged 23% in after-hours trading due to weakness in the PC market.

A senior US Navy officer reportedly briefed US President Donald Trump on plans to attack Iran, sending international oil prices up more than 1% this morning (30th). Hong Kong-listed oil majors led gains, with SINOPEC CORP (00386.HK) up 4.15% after reporting a 25.3% increase in net profit for 1-3Q. PETROCHINA (00857.HK) soared 3.71%, while CNOOC (00883.HK) hiked 1.33%.
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Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.US) reported results that broadly missed expectations, with the performance of its search business capturing the most attention.

Revenue from Search and Other businesses expanded 12% YoY to about USD63 billion, but missed market expectations for a second consecutive quarter. At the same time, Google said growth in search queries on its platform was the strongest in five years.

As more users shift toward AI chatbots and agent-based tools, including Google's own offerings, the gap between usage and revenue in Google's core search business is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Since the early launch of ChatGPT, analysts have expected traditional search to be replaced by AI and have warned that Google needs to find new monetization methods. Although the search business remains massive in scale, the market has begun to see signs of transition.
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NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) plans to complete its USD1 billion investment in South Korean internet giant Naver next Friday (November 6), becoming the latter's third-largest shareholder, regulatory filings disclosed.

In July this year, Naver and NVIDIA had announced a strategic cooperation plan aimed at building large-scale global AI factories.

The capital injection comes after Naver had secured at least USD9 billion in funding for computing infrastructure investments.

Naver will determine the number of common shares to be subscribed by NVIDIA through a share placement next Tuesday (November 3).
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US corporate earnings delivered mixed results. Disappointing quarterly results from Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.US) dragged down the Nasdaq by 1.38% overnight (29th), while the DJIA lost 132 pts. The HSI opened this morning (30th) at 23,011, up 52 pts or 0.23%; the HSCEI opened at 7,779, up 23 pts or 0.31%; and the HSTECH opened at 3,720, down 23 pts or 0.63%.

Major heavyweight tech stocks broadly softened. TENCENT (00700.HK) dipped 0.32%; BABA-W (09988.HK) faded 0.68%; MEITUAN-W (03690.HK) sank 0.29%; while XIAOMI-W (01810.HK) bucked the trend and opened 1.56% higher.

Among blue chips, LENOVO GROUP (00992.HK) opened 6.96% lower after weak PC market conditions triggered a 23% plunge in Intel (INTC.US) in after-hours trading. NEW ORIENTAL-S (09901.HK), which tumbled 14% yesterday, opened up 3.92% this morning. AIA (01299.HK) rose 1.26% despite a 5% YoY decline in 3Q VONB. BYD COMPANY (01211.HK) shed 1.02% after 3Q net profit grew 28%. CHINA UNICOM (00762.HK) gained 0.49% even as profit for 1-3Q lowered 33.6% YoY.

On individual stocks, EVERG SERVICES (06666.HK) resumed trading this morning and opened 11.39% lower after PAG proposed a general offer at nearly a 30% discount. MIDEA GROUP (00300.HK) opened 3.9% higher after 3Q profit elevated 26%.
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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) shares plummeted 7.3% in after-hours trading to USD225.99 after the company's third-quarter revenue gained 12% YoY to USD201.9 billion and EPS reached USD1.89, both missing market expectations.

Amazon.com forecast fourth-quarter total revenue of USD240-247 billion, versus market expectations of USD244.2 billion. CEO Andy Jassy said he remains upbeat about the long-term outlook for cloud business AWS. AWS backlog orders increased to USD578 billion, and AWS revenue is projected to grow 40% in each of the next two years, with potential to become a USD1 trillion revenue business within the next 5-10 years.
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Intel Corporation (INTC.US) reported 3Q revenue growing 21% YoY to USD16.5 billion, while non-GAAP EPS was USD0.25, below market expectations of USD0.43. The company forecast 4Q sales of USD15-16 billion, lower than the consensus of USD17 billion, dented by feeble demand for PC processors and supply chain issues affecting data center components. The news sent the stock lower by 23% in after-hours trading to USD70.89.

During the quarter, revenue from Intel's data center and AI division swelled 78% YoY to USD7.3 billion. Sales from the client computing division, which manufactures chips for PCs, sagged 5% to USD8.1 billion, while foundry division revenue climbed 58% YoY to USD6.7 billion.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said one of the key challenges facing the PC market is the upsurge in chip prices, and he expects conditions to remain very challenging next year. He believes the PC market will sink 12% this year and contract a further 10% next year. However, over the long term, the company remains optimistic about demand for its products and is increasing investment in new equipment to boost capacity, with growing confidence in attracting orders from other chipmakers.
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Shares of Google parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.US) plunged in pre-market trading on Thursday (29th), while Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) elevated, as investors focused on spending and free cash flow data in the two tech giants' 3Q results.

Alphabet plunged about 10% in pre-market trading, while Microsoft rallied nearly 4% before the open.

If Alphabet closes down more than 9.77% on Thursday, it would mark its worst post-results share price reaction since its 2004 listing.

Microsoft reported capex and finance leases of USD45.2 billion for 3Q, up 30% YoY, but below analysts' forecast of USD50.67 billion. Free cash flow slid 27% to USD18.63 billion, but remained positive.

Meanwhile, Alphabet recorded negative free cash flow of USD9.07 billion in 3Q, far worse than analysts' expectation of negative USD2.7 billion. Alphabet maintained its full-year capex guidance of USD195-205 billion.

The market is scrutinizing AI spending plans of tech companies and focusing on returns from related investments.
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Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) shares escalated on Wednesday (28th), as the memory chip industry once again passed a market test.

SK hynix released earnings with an upbeat outlook, boosting positive sentiment toward the memory industry. The South Korean chip giant expects shortages of memory components to persist through 2030.

Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson, told MarketWatch that not only did the results far exceed expectations, SK hynix is also paving the way for large-scale shareholder returns. SK hynix announced that it will return more than KRW100 trillion, or about USD75 billion, to shareholders this year through dividends and share buybacks.

Micron is expected to launch its own large-scale shareholder return plan in December, when restrictions related to government subsidies expire and the company regains eligibility to repurchase shares.

SK hynix (SKHY.US) ADRs closed up 13.3% on Wednesday, while Micron leaped 5.9%.
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Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) charted a 32% increment in first fiscal quarter profit to USD36.6 billion, with adjusted EPS at USD4.89, above market expectations of USD4.73. Revenue rose 19% to USD92.3 billion, while revenue from Microsoft Azure cloud computing business elevated 48% to USD33.17 billion, beating expectations of USD32.84 billion.

Microsoft forecast Azure business growth of 49-50% for the second fiscal quarter, above market expectations of 47.6%. The company projected overall sales of USD96-97.1 billion, higher than expectations of USD95.6 billion. Spurred by the news, the company's share price soared 2.88% to USD546.3 in after-hours trading.
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Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.US) reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter results, arousing concerns that AI is exerting pressure on its core search engine business, sending the stock lower by 9.75% in after-hours trading to USD290.52.

Alphabet's third-quarter revenue shot up 24.7% YoY to USD127.577 billion, below market expectations of USD128 billion. EPS stood at USD2.12, also below the market forecast of USD3.02, dented by a USD8.6 billion mark-to-market loss on equity investments. The company said the loss was tied to its investment in SpaceX.

Alphabet said during its earnings conference call that search revenue this quarter was affected by FX fluctuations. Query length in AI Mode is on average three times that of traditional search, but monetization capability remains weaker at the current stage.
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