Jin Rong Jie·2026-02-16 02:53Market Overview - The Hong Kong stock market opened slightly lower on February 16, with the Hang Seng Index, Hang Seng Tech Index, and Hang Seng China Enterprises Index down by 0.25%, 0.19%, and 0.08% respectively. After initial declines, the Hang Seng Index turned positive while the Hang Seng Tech Index's losses narrowed to 1.09%, indicating a slight easing of market panic [1]. Sector Performance - There was a clear divergence in sector performance, with precious metals, semiconductors, and oil & petrochemicals showing strong gains, while sectors such as defense, consumer discretionary, and hardware equipment struggled, negatively impacting market sentiment [3]. Precious Metals Sector - The precious metals sector led the market, with gold-related stocks performing particularly well. Notable gains included Luoyang Molybdenum rising over 7% and Lingbao Gold increasing by over 6%. Other related stocks like China Nonferrous Mining, Shandong Gold, Jiangxi Copper, and Minmetals Resources also saw significant increases, driven by strong consumer demand during the Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year holiday season [4]. AI and Semiconductor Stocks - AI application stocks opened strong, with notable performances from companies like Fubo Group, which rose over 10%, and MINIMAX-WP, which increased nearly 6%. Zhipu continued its recent strong performance, reaching a peak of 540 HKD per share, up over 11%, as it plans to list on the STAR Market [5][6]. - The semiconductor sector also experienced a sharp rise, with stocks like Zhaoyi Innovation increasing over 17% and Lanke Technology rising over 13%. This surge was supported by recent price fluctuations in the storage market, where prices for some DDR4 products have decreased by 10% to 20% from their peak in 2025, while NAND flash memory prices have doubled since the beginning of the year [6].