[Updated 2024.10] Chinese ADRs and Hong Kong stocks have surged recently. If you’re interested, this may be a good time to consider investing in Hong Kong stocks. If you previously signed up for Futu Moomoo, you only need to enable Hong Kong stock trading in your account to start trading Hong Kong stocks. With Futu Moomoo, you can use one account to invest in U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, and A-share Connect. It is also the only online brokerage platform that supports investing in U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks, and A-share Connect at the same time. There is no need to use multiple platforms or open additional accounts. A single account lets you invest in Hong Kong stocks and A-shares with more convenient fund management, while also supporting Hong Kong stock derivatives, options, warrants, and other product categories.

Futu Moomoo also currently has an account opening bonus: open an account and get 3 months of a very high 8.1% interest rate on cash balances + 15 stocks. For details, see

Key features related to Hong Kong stock trading include:

  • Chinese-friendly: fully Chinese interface, with one-click switching between Traditional and Simplified Chinese. Features, community, and news are all displayed in Chinese. There is also Chinese customer service available 24 hours on trading days, so there are no communication barriers and investment questions can be resolved quickly.
  • Hong Kong stock heat map: quickly view the day’s hottest sectors based on market cap, trading volume, and trading value. Color intensity represents gain/loss magnitude, helping investors see at a glance which sectors are leading or lagging and quickly identify investable hot sectors and names.
  • Hong Kong stock investment themes: no need to do all the analysis yourself. With one click, you can view Hong Kong stocks and Chinese ADRs that may benefit from U.S. rate cuts, and quickly screen for stocks with potentially higher future returns during a rate-cut cycle.
  • Hong Kong stock screener: supports more than 100 screening metrics, including market, valuation, financial, and technical indicators. One screening pass can cover both fundamental and technical investing needs, helping you quickly and accurately find the stocks you want to review. It also supports screening for multiple asset types such as options and ETFs, helping investors discover more worthwhile opportunities.
  • Featured rankings: both Hong Kong stocks and A-share Connect support ranking lists, including investor discussions, unusual short-selling activity, fund flows, top gainers, and most actively traded stocks, helping investors quickly spot money-making opportunities and stocks with investment potential.

About Investing in Hong Kong Stocks

Hong Kong has a long financial history, with its earliest stock exchange established in the 1800s. Since then, Hong Kong has developed into an active and highly liquid securities market, becoming the world’s fifth-largest stock exchange and one of the most important financial centers. The Hong Kong market is subject to dual oversight from HKEX and government agencies, with dual data backups. Regulation is relatively comprehensive, and listed companies’ disclosures and financial reports are generally more transparent and reliable, helping protect investors’ interests. Stocks listed on HKEX include local companies such as HKEX itself, as well as mainland Chinese companies such as Tencent, Meituan, and Alibaba. Despite increasing regulatory pressure on Chinese tech companies, ByteDance, the owner of short-video app TikTok, has resumed its listing plans and is targeting a Hong Kong IPO early next year.

Investors in the U.S. can choose to buy Hong Kong stocks listed as American depositary receipts (ADRs) on local exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq, or the over-the-counter market (OTC). However, ADRs require additional fees and taxes that traditional stock ownership does not. Even when traded on U.S. exchanges, ADRs still face the same currency risk as the underlying foreign shares. Some Hong Kong-listed companies also do not have ADRs.

Personally, I think that as the bubble in U.S. stocks keeps getting larger and risks continue to rise, allocating some money to Hong Kong stocks may be one way to diversify risk. If you are optimistic about Hong Kong’s market, which is backed by the Chinese economy, as well as the future development of certain companies listed in Hong Kong, and you have substantial U.S. dollar assets but do not want to move money back to China to invest in A-shares, then investing directly in the less restricted Hong Kong market may be a good option. Hong Kong IPO subscriptions can also be a relatively rewarding strategy. To emphasize again, this article does not provide any investment advice; it only introduces one possible investment channel.

  • Investing involves risk. Enter the market with caution!
  • Investing involves risk. Enter the market with caution!
  • Investing involves risk. Enter the market with caution!

Characteristics of Hong Kong Stock Trading

Hong Kong stock trading hours are divided into four sessions: the pre-opening session, morning session, afternoon session, and closing auction. The market is closed on weekends and statutory holidays.

  • Pre-opening session: 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM
  • Morning session: 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM
  • Afternoon session: 1:00 PM to 4:08 PM-4:10 PM
  • Closing auction: random between 4:08 PM-4:10 PM

Like U.S. stocks, Hong Kong stocks trade on a T+0 basis, meaning shares bought the same day can be sold the same day. The actual settlement date is T+2. Cash cannot be withdrawn before T+2, meaning funds from stocks sold today will only be available after 2 business days, which is similar to U.S. stocks.

Hong Kong stocks are traded by board lot, and the number of shares in one lot varies by company. For example, Alibaba trades in lots of 100 shares. Of course, brokerages may also support odd-lot trading down to 1 share, but in that case your order may effectively be combined with others to make up a full lot, which could result in some loss or extra fees.

In terms of funding, Hong Kong does not have the same foreign exchange controls as mainland China. You can convert U.S. dollars into Hong Kong dollars at the brokerage to trade, and later freely convert the Hong Kong dollars in your account back into U.S. dollars. Of course, if you want to invest using RMB, you can also open a Stock Connect account to trade most Hong Kong stocks, although the corresponding restrictions will be greater.

For taxes, if you are a U.S. Resident Alien (On tax purpose), then profits from trading Hong Kong stocks should also be reported in the U.S. as stock investment income. Of course, if you trade through a platform like Futu Niuniu that does not require an SSN, then in theory the U.S. may not know you have stock gains, but everyone should evaluate that risk for themselves. If you are a U.S. green card holder, then the U.S. taxes worldwide income, so whether you are in the U.S. or not does not matter—you should honestly report your investment income.

Comparison of Brokerages for Hong Kong Stocks

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) imposes additional restrictions on U.S. residents accessing local Hong Kong brokerages. This makes it inconvenient for U.S. residents who want to trade Hong Kong stocks directly. Although some U.S. brokerages offer direct Hong Kong stock trading, clients usually need to open a separate global account in order to do so.

U.S. investors can buy a limited number of Hong Kong stocks listed as American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the NYSE, Nasdaq, and OTC markets. However, there are not many Hong Kong stocks available as ADRs. ADRs also involve additional fees, taxes, and foreign exchange risk. If U.S. residents trade Hong Kong stocks through local U.S. brokerages, they will generally face higher commissions than for U.S. stocks. They also need to pay some foreign exchange conversion fees. For example, if you buy 100 shares of Tencent for 500 Hong Kong dollars through Interactive Brokers (IB), you need to pay an additional $2 for currency conversion on IB.

Since most readers are studying or living in the U.S. and likely hold most of their assets in U.S. dollars, below is a comparison of how different platforms in the U.S. market perform for trading Hong Kong stocks. The data below was updated on 2021.9.14 and represents only the information available at that time.

  • Moomoo supports Hong Kong stock trading, with relatively low commissions and platform fees. It also supports margin and does not charge currency conversion fees. No separate account opening is required (if you already have the U.S. stock app, you can directly enable Hong Kong stock trading). It also supports fractional-share/odd-lot trading. Overall, it is one of the best platforms for Hong Kong stock trading.
  • Interactive has slightly higher commissions and fees, though margin rates are somewhat lower. However, it charges currency conversion fees and does not support odd-lot trading.
  • Charles Schwab and Fidelity charge fixed commissions, making them better suited for large orders. However, they do not support margin, charge some currency conversion fees, and do not support odd-lot trading. Schwab also requires a separate global account to trade Hong Kong stocks.
  • TD, Trade Up, and Webull do not currently support Hong Kong stock trading.

If you buy 1 lot of Tencent stock, which is 100 shares, the costs are as follows. (Real-time stock prices are for reference only.)

Among the brokerages that support Hong Kong stocks, Moomoo also offers an extra account opening bonus, and it is relatively easy to earn. When you open an account, a US stock account is enabled by default, and you just need to click once more to enable Hong Kong stock trading. Your deposit can be made in US dollars, and converting it to Hong Kong dollars afterward does not affect your eligibility for the account opening bonus. We’ll explain the details below.

How to Trade Hong Kong Stocks with Moomoo

Moomoo is the No. 1 trading app in Hong Kong, and its parent company, Futu, is part of the MSCI Hong Kong Index. Here we’ll use Moomoo as an example to show how to trade Hong Kong stocks. Opening a Moomoo account requires a US SSN. If you do not have one, you can use Futu NiuNiu from the same company instead, which requires a Chinese ID card to open. The interface and user experience are basically the same as Moomoo, so we won’t repeat the full walkthrough here.

Open an Account

If you do not yet have an account with Moomoo or Futu NiuNiu, you’ll need to open one. After the Fed rate cut, many firms lowered their rates, but Moomoo will continue to offer a high cash management yield. New accounts can still earn 8.1% APY, which includes an extra 3.5% APY bonus for the first three months, and then a steady 4.6% APY afterward. In addition, if you open an account through our link now, you can get up to 15 free stocks. A $1,000 deposit qualifies you for the full 15-stock bonus. The promotion expires on November 30.

The deposit bonus requirements are as follows:

  • Deposit $100 and get 5 free stocks
  • Deposit $1000 and get 10 additional free stocks, for a total of 15
  • Each free stock is worth between $2-$2,000, and the deposit must be maintained for at least 60 days (you can trade, and losses do not count; your net deposits just need to remain above $1,000)

Detailed terms:

  • Complete a net deposit of $100 during the promotion period. Then, you will get 5 opportunities to draw for a free stock worth between $2 - $2,000 each. After drawing your free stocks, you need to maintain an average asset balance of $100 or more for 60 days to unlock the stocks ("Assets" includes cash and securities positions) .
  • Complete a net deposit of $1,000 during the promotion period. Then, you will get 10 additional opportunities to draw for free stock worth between $2 - $2,000 each. After drawing free stocks, you will need to maintain an average asset balance of $1,000 or more for 60 days to unlock the stocks.

Enable Hong Kong Stock Trading

After opening your Moomoo account, only the US stock account is enabled by default. If you want to trade Hong Kong stocks, you’ll need to enable the Hong Kong stock feature in your account. You do not need to register a new account, and the cash balance can be shared across both accounts, which is very convenient.

  • On the “Trade” tab, tap “Securities Accounts”
  • Switch to Hong Kong stocks to enter the Hong Kong stock account opening page
  • Select the Hong Kong stock margin account option
  • Read the investment disclosures, then submit
  • In most cases, the Hong Kong stock account will be enabled in 5-10 minutes.

Fund Your Account

Because both the Hong Kong stock and US stock accounts are under the same account, they can share the same cash balance. You can deposit US dollars directly via ACH or wire transfer.

After the funds arrive, you’ll need to use currency exchange to convert your USD into HKD before trading in the Hong Kong market. The currency exchange is usually completed within 3 minutes at the current exchange rate, with no extra fee.

After the exchange is complete, the corresponding HKD balance will appear in your Hong Kong stock account and can be used for trading when the market is open.

Trading

Once you have funds in the account, you can start trading Hong Kong stocks. The default minimum trading unit is 1 lot. For example, 1 lot of Alibaba is 100 shares.

If you want to buy less than 1 lot or a non-integer number of lots, you can enter the share quantity directly. Note that odd-lot execution prices may be worse than board-lot execution prices, and Futu does not guarantee best execution for odd lots.

Market Data and Analysis Tools

Moomoo provides powerful Hong Kong stock market analysis tools, including top 10 net-buy/net-sell broker data, short-selling data analysis, indicator interpretations, analyst ratings, and more.

Moomoo Investment Platform Signup Links

US Signup

After the Fed rate cut, many firms lowered their rates, but Moomoo will continue to offer a high cash management yield. New accounts can still earn 8.1% APY, which includes an extra 3.5% APY bonus for the first three months, and then a steady 4.6% APY afterward. In addition, if you open an account through our link now, you can get up to 15 free stocks. A $1,000 deposit qualifies you for the full 15-stock bonus. The promotion expires on November 30.

The deposit bonus requirements are as follows:

  • Deposit $100 and get 5 free stocks
  • Deposit $1000 and get 10 additional free stocks, for a total of 15
  • Each free stock is worth between $2-$2,000, and the deposit must be maintained for at least 60 days (you can trade, and losses do not count; your net deposits just need to remain above $1,000)

Detailed terms:

  • Complete a net deposit of $100 during the promotion period. Then, you will get 5 opportunities to draw for a free stock worth between $2 - $2,000 each. After drawing your free stocks, you need to maintain an average asset balance of $100 or more for 60 days to unlock the stocks ("Assets" includes cash and securities positions) .
  • Complete a net deposit of $1,000 during the promotion period. Then, you will get 10 additional opportunities to draw for free stock worth between $2 - $2,000 each. After drawing free stocks, you will need to maintain an average asset balance of $1,000 or more for 60 days to unlock the stocks.

Australia Signup Bonus

Before November 30, deposit A$100 and you’re guaranteed to receive 1 share of Tencent stock (currently worth nearly HK$300 per share). If you sign up through our link, you can also get an extra US$10 cash coupon. By completing the quiz, you can additionally claim a free HK$50 stock cash coupon. That means depositing A$100 can get you rewards worth around A$80.

Account opening requirements: as long as you have an Australian driver’s license or passport + proof of Australian address, you can open an Australian Moomoo account and immediately enjoy:

  • HK$50 stock cash coupon (claim by completing a quiz; very easy)
  • 180 days of commission-free US and Australian stock trading
  • Free Level 2 real-time US stock quotes
  • 180 days with no platform fees for US and Australian stocks