<p>Hong Kong stocks welcome the Year of the Horse with a snake, as this week will enter the Lunar New Year long holiday, with only a half-day market today and the market opening on the fourth day of the new year this Friday. The mainland regulatory authorities have interviewed various platform companies, which may affect market sentiment. Additionally, the Hong Kong stock market is expected to be cautious before and after the long holiday, lacking trading activity from northbound funds, leading to a quiet market. Some analysts believe that the Hang Seng Index may fluctuate between 26,000 and 27,000 points in the short term. The Hang Seng Index opened this morning at 26,501 points, down 65 points or 0.25%.</p>
<h2>Mainland Interviews with Platform Companies Affect Sentiment</h2>
<p>The State Administration for Market Regulation released the &#34;Antitrust Compliance Guidelines for Internet Platforms&#34; last Friday and interviewed Alibaba (9988), Douyin, Baidu (9888), Tencent (700), JD.com (9618), Meituan (3690), and Alibaba's Taobao Flash Sale platform, reminding relevant platform companies to eliminate all forms of &#34;involution&#34; competition. Additionally, Meituan issued a profit warning, forecasting a significant loss last year.</p>
<p>Related article: Meituan issues profit warning, expects to turn a loss of over 23.3 billion yuan last year due to unprecedented fierce competition affecting the first quarter.</p>
<p>As a result of the news, tech stocks generally declined, with Alibaba (9988) down 1.8%; Tencent (700) down 0.4%; Meituan (3690), which issued a profit warning, down 0.6%; JD.com (9618) down 0.8%; Xiaomi (1810) unchanged; and Baidu (9888) down 1.5%.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the Hang Seng Index company announced the latest quarterly review results last week, with CATL (3750), LAOPU GOLD (6181), and Luoyang Molybdenum (3993) being added to the blue-chip list, with stock prices rising 1.3%, 0.2%, and 1.4% respectively; while Zhongsheng Group (881) was removed from the Hang Seng Index constituents, with its stock price unchanged.</p>
<p>Related article: Hang Seng Index quarterly review reveals CATL, LAOPU GOLD, and Luoyang Molybdenum added to the blue-chip list, increasing the number of blue-chip stocks to 90.</p>
<h2>Sands China Adjusted Property EBITDA Decreased by 0.7%</h2>
<p>In individual stock news, Sands China (1928) reported a total net revenue of USD 7.443 billion for the entire year, an increase of 5.1% year-on-year; net profit was USD 896 million, a decrease of 14.3% year-on-year; adjusted property EBITDA decreased by 0.7% to USD 2.31 billion; and the final dividend was HKD 0.5, doubling year-on-year. During the period, net revenue from casinos was USD 5.58 billion, an increase of 4.4% year-on-year, mainly due to increased table gaming and slot machine revenue at The Londoner Macao and an increase in the percentage of winning amounts. The stock opened at HKD 18.46, down HKD 0.22.</p>
<h2>Zhi Yaohui: Hang Seng Index Expected to Fluctuate Between 26,000 and 27,000</h2>
<p>Zhi Yaohui, Director of Research at Zhi Cai Securities, stated that the Hong Kong stock market will only have one and a half trading days this week, making it difficult to establish a clear direction. He expects that before the return of northbound funds, the Hang Seng Index will have little significant change in the short term, with trading volume also shrinking, likely fluctuating between 26,000 and 27,000 points. He believes that recent external investment sentiment is relatively weak, and regulatory actions have made the outlook for tech stocks uncertain. Investors should prepare psychologically for the possibility of significant market fluctuations after the holiday</p>
<h2>Tan Zhile: Market Avoids Speculating on Tech Stocks, Short-term Weakness Difficult to Reverse</h2>
<p>Regarding the outlook for tech stocks, Futu Securities Chief Analyst Tan Zhile pointed out that the impact of platform regulation is not significant, as the authorities are only moderately intervening in malicious competition and have not halted normal market behaviors such as subsidies. However, as the price war continues, &#34;many people are not interested in burning money with tech companies,&#34; which puts continuous pressure on stocks like Meituan, while Tencent and Alibaba's efforts to attract AI users through red envelopes have not necessarily contributed to profitability. With the market avoiding speculation on tech stocks, it is difficult for stock prices to reverse their weakness in the short term.</p>
<p>This week, there are multiple market holidays, with the Hong Kong stock market closed from Tuesday to Thursday; the A-shares have already started their holiday and will resume trading on the 24th; additionally, the US stock market is also closed today for Presidents' Day. On the external front, attention this week will be on the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes on Wednesday; on Friday, the US will also release the preliminary GDP for the fourth quarter of last year, as well as the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index for December last year</p>

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<p>The Hong Kong stock market showed weakness in the half-day session before the Lunar New Year holiday, with the Hang Seng Index opening at 26,501 points, down 65 points or 0.25%. Alibaba fell 1.8%, and Meituan issued a profit warning, forecasting a loss of over 23.3 billion yuan last year, with its stock price slightly down 0.6%. Regulatory authorities interviewed several platform companies, affecting market sentiment. Stocks like CATL and LAOPU GOLD performed positively, with prices rising 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Sands China reported a net income of USD 7.443 billion for the year, an increase of 5.1% year-on-year</p>

- The Hong Kong stock market is entering the Lunar New Year holiday, with only a half-day trading session today and full trading resuming this Friday.  
- Regulatory actions targeting major tech platforms in mainland China, along with a generally cautious market sentiment, are expected to lead to fluctuations in the Hang Seng Index around the 26,000 to 27,000 point range.  
- Analysts predict that stock prices, especially in the tech sector, will continue to face pressure due to ongoing price wars and muted investor interest.

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Before the market closed for the half-day session, Alibaba fell nearly 2%, Meituan issued a profit warning and slightly declined, CATL and LAOPU GOLD turned blue and moved upward | Hong Kong stocks opened