On February 16, the last trading session before the Lunar New Year holiday, Hong Kong stocks saw a V-shape rebound during the half-day trading session, with the three major indices recovering from early losses.
By the midday close, the Hang Seng Index had risen by 0.52%, after earlier falling more than 0.6%. The Hang Seng Tech Index increased by 0.13%, despite having dropped over 1.9% during the session. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.42%, after declining more than 0.8% earlier. Resource stocks led the gains, with China Molybdenum rising more than 6%, while Zijin Mining and Ganfeng Lithium each advanced over 4%.
The AI application sector surged significantly. Haizhi Technology Group jumped nearly 30%, MINIMAX-WP climbed over 24%, Maiyue Technology increased more than 10%, Vobile Group rose over 8%, and Zhipu AI gained 4.74%.
The 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala is set to feature strong technological elements. Tan Dai, President of Volcano Engine, revealed in an interview that the Spring Festival Gala is the first client for Seedance2.0. This technology employs a unified multimodal audio-video joint generation architecture, capable of understanding user-input text, reference visuals, and cinematography to automatically produce high-quality videos. Its application has significantly improved the efficiency and artistic expression of visual effects production for the program.
Embodied robots will also return to the stage, showcasing dynamic performances that push creative boundaries. CCTV's self-developed "CCTV Media Big Model 2.0" will be used for the first time in content production for the gala, leveraging AI-generated imagery and hyper-realistic digital human technology to enhance visual presentation and production efficiency.
Additionally, a new pull request for integrating Qwen3.5 into Transformers recently appeared on the open-source project page of HuggingFace, the world's largest AI open-source community. Industry insiders speculate that Alibaba's next-generation foundational model, Qwen3.5, is nearing release.
Non-ferrous metals stocks led the gains, with gold stocks showing particular strength. By midday, China Molybdenum and Lao Feng Xiang Gold had each risen over 6%, Lingbao Gold advanced nearly 5%, Zijin Mining and Ganfeng Lithium increased more than 4%, while Aluminum Corporation of China, Jiangxi Copper, MMG, and Shandong Gold each gained over 3%.
On the news front, China Molybdenum and Lao Feng Xiang Gold are set to be included in the Hang Seng Index, and Lingbao Gold will be added to the Hang Seng Composite Index. Meanwhile, international gold prices rebounded for two consecutive days after a significant drop last Thursday, climbing back above $5,000 per ounce on Friday.
The non-ferrous metals sector was also the strongest performer in A-shares during the Year of the Snake. According to Wind data, using Shenwan industry classification, the sector significantly outperformed others, with cumulative gains exceeding 100% during the period.
Guoxin Securities noted that geopolitical risk premiums persist, with potential conflicts in the Middle East remaining and the Red Sea crisis continuing. Traffic through the Suez Canal remains well below normal levels. Iran has extended military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz until February 20, increasing risks of crude oil transport disruptions. Recent expressions of intent to visit China by both the U.S. President and Russian officials indicate ongoing major power dynamics. Gold prices may rise if key recent events and data alter expectations. Overall, short-term gold prices maintain a high safety margin.
Oil stocks also strengthened, with CNOOC rising nearly 4%, while Sinopec Oilfield Service and China Oilfield Service each gained over 2%. PetroChina and Sinopec also recorded increases.
Recent international oil prices have fluctuated amid factors including反复 tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with short-term pricing logic now dominated by geopolitical premiums. Currently, pricing power for oil has temporarily shifted to geopolitical factors. Shenyin Wanguo summarized this as "geopolitics leading, fundamentals providing support," suggesting that short-term strategy should not focus on predicting the timing of geopolitical events—which are unpredictable—but rather acknowledge that uncertainty itself has become a supporting factor for oil prices. As long as the pattern of "negotiation amid conflict" between the U.S. and Iran does not fundamentally reverse, oil prices are unlikely to experience a deep correction.
From a medium-term supply and demand perspective, the long-term driver of oil price trends is the repricing of oil's "asset attributes." A fundamental shift in this investment cycle lies in the changing nature of oil—transitioning from a purely industrial commodity to an asset with both financial attributes and strategic reserve value. The Kondratiev cycle, the gold-to-oil ratio, and de-dollarization collectively form a broader narrative for oil price revaluation.