---
title: "The Hang Seng Index fell 161 points in the half-day session, Baidu dropped by half, AI stocks surged, with KNOWLEDGE ATLAS and Dolphin Research rising by 19% | Hong Kong stock market opens"
description: "On the first trading day of the Year of the Horse, Hong Kong stocks opened lower, with the Hang Seng Index closing down 161 points at 26,544 points, and a turnover of HKD 91.755 billion. The Tech Inde"
type: "news"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/276410566.md"
published_at: "2026-02-20T04:31:49.000Z"
---

# The Hang Seng Index fell 161 points in the half-day session, Baidu dropped by half, AI stocks surged, with KNOWLEDGE ATLAS and Dolphin Research rising by 19% | Hong Kong stock market opens

> On the first trading day of the Year of the Horse, Hong Kong stocks opened lower, with the Hang Seng Index closing down 161 points at 26,544 points, and a turnover of HKD 91.755 billion. The Tech Index fell 122 points, with Baidu dropping 5.66%, making it the worst-performing blue chip. Alibaba, Tencent, and others also declined. AI stocks performed strongly, with KNOWLEDGE ATLAS and Dolphin Research both rising over 19%. Historical data shows that the Hang Seng Index has performed poorly in the Year of the Horse, with only one increase in the past four Year of the Horse red plate dates

On the first trading day of the Year of the Horse, the Hong Kong stock market failed to open higher. The Hang Seng Index opened 48 points lower this morning, with a maximum drop of 348 points; it closed down 161 points or 0.6% at 26,544 points at noon. With the absence of northbound capital, the half-day turnover was HKD 91.755 billion.

The Tech Index fell 122 points or 2.28%, closing at 5,245 points.

Related article: Chan Mo-po optimistic about the market in the Year of the Horse; external fluctuations are inevitable, likening Hong Kong to a galloping horse overcoming obstacles.

Tech stocks led the decline, with Baidu (9888) dropping 5.66%, the worst-performing blue chip for the half-day; Alibaba (9988) fell 3.74%; Xiaomi (1810) dropped 2.29%; Meituan (3690) fell 1.76%; Tencent (700) decreased by 1.97%.

This year's CCTV Spring Festival Gala has turned into a humanoid robot competition arena, boosting the stocks of robotics and AI applications. Yujiang (2432) rose over 19%; Shoucheng Holdings (697) increased by 11%; Suton Juchuang (2498) climbed 9.4%; UBTECH (9880) and Sanhua Intelligent Control (2050) both rose over 6%.

In terms of AI application stocks, Zhipu (2513) and Haizhi Technology (2706) both rose over 19%; MINIMAX (100) increased by 10%.

Related article: Over 10 international companies queue to go public; HKEX's Chen Yiting: The trend of international companies coming to Hong Kong for IPOs is expected to continue.

———

0930: On the first trading day of the Year of the Horse, the Hang Seng Index opened 48 points lower at 26,657 points. The Tech Index opened 36 points lower at 5,330 points. Tencent (700) fell 0.28%; Meituan (3690) dropped 1%; Alibaba (9988) decreased by 3%. HSBC (005) rose 0.59%; Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (388) increased by 0.29%.

Performance in the past four Years of the Horse

Positive Opening Dates

Change on Positive Opening

Percentage Change on Positive Opening

Annual Percentage Change

February 4, 2014

\-637 points

\-2.90%

+12.7%

February 15, 2002

+129 points

+1.2%

\-14.50%

January 30, 1990

\-8 points

\-0.30%

+23.2%

February 10, 1978

\-1 point

\-0.40%

+31.9%

Looking back at past performances, the Hang Seng Index has historically performed poorly on positive openings in the Year of the Horse, recording three declines and one increase. The last occurrence in 2014 saw a drop of 637 points due to the U.S. tapering and a sell-off in emerging markets. However, in fact, the overall performance in past Years of the Horse has been completely opposite to the direction of the positive opening, ultimately resulting in three increases and one decline, including a rise of 2,796 points in 2014 as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect "opened up."

Performance of Hong Kong stocks on the first trading day of the Lunar New Year over the past 12 years

Date

Zodiac

Market Trend

Closing Price (Points)

Change

Change Percentage

February 3, 2025

Snake

Opened low and closed low

20217

\-7 points

\-0.04%

February 14, 2024

Dragon

Opened low and closed high

15879

+132 points

+0.8%

January 26, 2023

Rabbit

Opened high and closed high

22566

+522 points

+2.37%

February 4, 2022

Tiger

Opened high and closed high

24573

+771 points

+3.24%

February 16, 2021

Ox

Opened high and closed high

30746

+573 points

+1.9%

January 29, 2020

Rat

Opened low and closed low

27160

\-789 points

\-2.82%

February 8, 2019

Pig

Opened low and closed low

27946

\-43 points

\-0.16%

February 20, 2018

Dog

Opened high and closed low

30873

\-241 points

\-0.78%

February 1, 2017

Rooster

Opened low and closed low

23318

\-42 points

\-0.18%

February 11, 2016

Monkey

Opened low and closed low

18545

\-742 points

\-3.85%

February 23, 2015

Goat

Opened high and closed high

24836

+4 points

+0.02%

February 4, 2014

Horse

Opened low and closed low

21397

\-637 points

\-2.89%

Recently, the AI industry has once again attracted attention from the outside world. Yesterday, the South Korean stock market opened first, with the Korea Composite Stock Price Index rising 3.1% to reach a new high, mainly driven by semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The mainland has also reignited the AI competition during the Lunar New Year, with Tencent (700) announcing that its large model product Yuanbao has surpassed 50 million daily active users (DAU), and monthly active users have reached 114 million. ByteDance's large model Doubao achieved a total of 1.9 billion AI interactions on New Year's Eve; additionally, the humanoid robot performance during the Spring Festival Gala has sparked renewed interest in its supply chain industry Related articles: Investment cautions in the Year of the Horse: Avoid greed and ignorance of losses. The fire element brings great benefits. AI and energy sectors are expected to perform better in the 5 lunar months.

## Northbound capital may have lower volatility before restart

Wu Lixian, a securities strategist at Everbright Securities International, stated that Hong Kong stocks are expected to close higher today, with a short-term target of 27,000 points and support at 26,300 points below. The volatility may be lower before the northbound capital restarts; he anticipates speculation in AI manufacturing, robotics, aviation stocks, and gaming stocks. He pointed out that Hong Kong stocks recorded a certain decline during the Year of the Snake, with some funds taking the opportunity to profit before the holiday. He believes that selling pressure will decrease after the holiday, and on the other hand, there are no significant external news affecting Hong Kong stocks, so the Hang Seng Index is likely to remain directionless in the short term.

Investment manager Li Mingde from Dasheng Asset Management also noted that there is a chance for Hong Kong stocks to close higher, with expected short-term fluctuations between 26,500 and 27,000 points. The Lunar New Year-themed sectors will attract capital, especially as it is a year of significant AI development, with Chinese companies frequently announcing their AI achievements, which is beneficial for market sentiment. The tech index has already fallen to a certain level, and further downside is limited, suggesting that investors take the opportunity to buy.

## Major tech and financial stocks may lack strength

Li Mingde stated that tech stocks have recently shown divergence, with Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu (9888) facing pressure due to concerns over platform economy regulations. However, he believes that the market has not fully reflected the valuation of their large model businesses. Once the related value is released, there will be considerable upside potential. He looks forward to next month's earnings season, where major tech companies will elaborate more on their AI business stories, which will be one of the opportunities to release value.

On the external front, tensions in the Middle East are rising, with Trump considering limited military strikes against Iran, and international oil prices continue to rise by about 2%. As for the three major U.S. stock indices, the Dow Jones closed at 49,395 points, down 267 points or 0.54%; the S&P 500 reported 6,861 points, down 19 points or 0.28%; the Nasdaq reported 22,682 points, down 70 points or 0.31%; the Golden Dragon Index, which reflects the performance of Chinese concept stocks, fell 0.35%, closing at 7,553 points.

Related articles: Stocks for the Year of the Horse | AI concept explosion: Experts' insights on potential returns of up to 40%. MINIMAX is expected to become a "golden bull stock."

### Related Stocks

- [02513.HK - KNOWLEDGE ATLAS](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/02513.HK.md)
- [09888.HK - BIDU-SW](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09888.HK.md)

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> **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.
