During the Spring Festival holiday, Hong Kong indices lacked clear direction in the absence of A-share leads and continued to fluctuate, with market interest primarily centered on robotics and large AI models that gained popularity during the Spring Festival Gala. On February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tariff measures implemented by the U.S. government under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act lacked explicit legal authorization, leading to the termination of a series of tariffs. The U.S. government responded by invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, with former President Trump announcing on the 21st an increase in the "global import tariff" rate on goods imported into the U.S. from 10% to 15%, effective immediately. Tariff disputes are expected to persist and are unlikely to be unilaterally resolved through legal channels. President Trump is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union address on February 24, outlining policy priorities for the coming year. Regarding Iran, tensions remain subdued for now, with negotiations continuing unless military action occurs. Meanwhile, Germany's newly appointed Chancellor is set to visit China from February 24 to 26, with stops in Beijing and Hangzhou. Overall, with A-shares resuming trading this week, post-holiday performance is typically stronger following pre-holiday sluggishness. Attention should be paid to NVIDIA's earnings release after the market closes on February 25, as its results and guidance will not only impact its own stock price but also significantly influence investment sentiment across the entire AI industry chain. Reports indicate that memory chip giant Samsung Electronics is negotiating prices for its latest generation of AI memory chips, which could be up to 30% higher than the previous generation. Memory-related concepts are expected to maintain strength. During the 2026 Spring Festival, VLCC freight rates surged significantly. On February 20, daily rates for VLCCs on the Middle East, West Africa/Latin America, and U.S. Gulf routes reached $157,000, $137,000, and $101,000 respectively, surpassing the peak levels seen in November 2025 and hitting a new high since April 2020. Related shipping stocks are poised to benefit. MSCI announced the results of its quarterly index review for February 2026, which will take effect after the market close on February 27. Selected constituents warrant attention.
This week's featured stock is SHOUCHENG. SHOUCHENG is an asset management company with a full industrial chain layout centered on real estate and property operations, primarily focusing on the property and robotics sectors. During the recent Spring Festival Gala, three companies invested in and serviced by SHOUCHENG—Songyan Power, Yushu Technology, and Yinhe General—shared the stage, showcasing the technological prowess and implementation capabilities of China's robotics industry across various segments on a national platform. SHOUCHENG has systematically invested in leading industry players such as Yushu Technology, Yun Shen Chu, Yinhe General, Accelerated Evolution, Xinghai Tu, Xingdong Era, and Songyan Power. In the first half of 2025, operating cash flow reached 277 million yuan, a 235% increase compared to 82.7 million yuan in the first half of 2024, primarily driven by higher revenue from asset operations, mainly from the parking lot at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport's T5 terminal, as well as increased income from asset financing, including returns from REITs funds and dividends from robotics and REITs investments. The company's asset operations involve high-value assets such as transportation hubs, municipal facilities, and commercial properties in key regions including Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, Chengdu-Chongqing, and the Greater Bay Area. These operations require certain franchise rights, resulting in high entry barriers and exclusivity. SHOUCHENG currently manages 20% of parking buildings at airports with passenger traffic exceeding ten million, including key hubs like Beijing Capital Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, and Xi'an Xianyang Airport T5, with a customer renewal rate exceeding 95%. This business provides the company with highly stable cash flow. SHOUCHENG is gradually transitioning from heavy to light assets, shifting from parking lot property investments to REITs investments, while making substantial investments in the robotics sector. Against the backdrop of current robotics popularity, its asset recycling strategy holds significant potential.
Mass production and implementation in the broader robotics field may drive substantial demand for LiDAR. In the Robotaxi sector, industrial synergy between China and the U.S. is evident, with policies like the SELFDRIVE Act advancing in the U.S. and Tesla's Cyber cab moving toward mass production. In China, leading companies such as Pony.ai and Didi have significantly reduced costs for pre-installed mass-produced vehicles, expanding their fleets to thousands or even tens of thousands of units. In unmanned logistics, companies like New Stone and Jiushi Intelligence have scaled their fleets to over ten thousand units, supported by progressive policies. For lawn robots, LiDAR solutions address limitations of traditional RTK and vision systems in complex environments, with leading LiDAR firms securing annual orders in the hundreds of thousands. In humanoid robotics, Yushu Technology's G1 and H2 robots, featured in the Spring Festival Gala, are equipped with Hesai Technology's T-series LiDAR. Leading LiDAR companies have established partnerships with top robotics firms like Yushu Technology, Yinhe General, and Zhiyuan. The era of sub-1,000 yuan LiDAR has begun, with L3 autonomous driving gradually being implemented. As the industry matures and prices decline rapidly, 2025 marked the advent of affordable LiDAR, with adoption expanding from high-end to mid- and low-end vehicle models. The rollout of L3 is expected to further increase LiDAR value per vehicle. Guolian Securities estimates that, under optimistic scenarios, China's ADAS LiDAR market could reach 36 billion yuan by 2028. The industry exhibits strong Matthew effect, with Hesai Technology, Suteng Juchuang, and Huawei dominating market share. Investors are advised to focus on leading companies with mass production capabilities, strong cost control, and early profitability inflection points, such as Hesai Technology and Suteng Juchuang.
Data from Hong Kong Exchanges shows that the total open interest for Hang Seng Index futures (February) stood at 116,021 contracts, with a net open interest of 46,600 contracts. The settlement date for Hang Seng Index futures is February 26, 2026, with settlement occurring this week. The Hang Seng Index is currently at 26,413 points, with the bear certificate concentration area gradually approaching the central axis, indicating downward pressure. As annual reports are released and U.S. tariff policies remain unstable, the Hang Seng Index is expected to face downward pressure this week.
The first trading day of the Year of the Horse in Hong Kong did not follow the usual post-holiday rally trend, with the Hang Seng Tech Index falling nearly 3%, dampening market sentiment. This decline was not accidental, reflecting both long-term structural shifts—such as reshaped profit boundaries in the platform economy and the persistent weakness of Hang Seng Tech constituents in applications lacking core underlying technology—and short-term external disruptions, including volatile U.S. tariff policies, escalating geopolitical tensions, and divergence in U.S. AI stocks. The Hong Kong market currently presents a mixed picture, with traditional internet giants under pressure while pure-play AI newcomers demonstrate independent strength. Short-term sentiment remains pressured, but long-term opportunities will ultimately depend on alignment between technological breakthroughs and broader trends.
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