The beginning of 2026 saw a series of new AI listings, including Biren Technology, MiniMax, Zhipu AI, and HAIZHI TECH GP (02706), ignite the Hong Kong stock market, establishing the sector as the most sought-after investment theme for the year. However, starting February 20th, the Hong Kong AI sector experienced a systematic correction due to global geopolitical conflicts and macroeconomic pressures. After nearly two weeks of sentiment-driven selling and valuation digestion, clear signals of stabilization have emerged across the board. Notably, HAIZHI TECH GP, which suffered the steepest decline previously, is now entering a distinct rebound window, strongly supported by capital inflows.
The recent sector-wide correction was triggered by external shocks, leading to a thorough cleansing of valuation bubbles. From February 20th to March 4th, global technology and AI sectors weakened in tandem. The Nasdaq 100 index retreated, with NVIDIA experiencing an intra-period decline of nearly 12%, while leading overseas large language model companies like Google and Meta also corrected. The Hong Kong market faced concurrent pressure, with the Hang Seng Tech Index falling by 12.4% during the same period. The AI sector, which had led gains earlier in the year, became a primary area for capital flight towards safer assets. Zhipu AI fell 27.72% from its historical peak, MiniMax dropped 25%, and HAIZHI TECH GP, often referred to as the "first stock to dispel AI illusions," saw a decline of 49.48%, nearly halving its share price.
This collective correction was not due to deterioration in individual company fundamentals but resulted from systemic shocks caused by several external factors. Firstly, escalating military conflict between Israel and Iran fueled ongoing Middle East geopolitical risks, triggering a global surge in risk aversion and prompting large-scale capital withdrawal from high-volatility, high-valuation AI growth stocks. Secondly, market expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2026 were significantly scaled back, leading to a rapid rise in the 10-year US Treasury yield, which directly impacted the discounted cash flow valuation models crucial for the AI sector. Thirdly, declines in overseas markets and weakness in the broader Hong Kong market created a negative feedback loop, causing substantial profit-taking from early-year gains and triggering short-term selling pressure. Following this adjustment, valuation bubbles within the sector have been adequately cleared, and overall short-selling momentum has been largely exhausted.
Following the deep correction in late February, the trio of stocks dubbed the "AI Three Musketeers" – MiniMax, Zhipu AI, and HAIZHI TECH GP – have halted their unilateral decline this week, embarking on a bottoming and rebounding recovery trajectory. On March 2nd, dragged down by external panic, these three stocks experienced a final round of sentiment-driven selling; MiniMax and HAIZHI TECH GP fell 7.86% and 7.10% respectively, marking the last phase of bubble clearance. On March 3rd, MiniMax released its first annual report since listing, featuring stellar results with 2025 revenue surging 158.9% year-on-year and gross profit skyrocketing 437.2%. This strongly validated the commercial viability of domestic AI companies, decisively reversing market pessimism. MiniMax's shares surged over 19% intraday, with Zhipu AI and HAIZHI TECH GP following the uptrend, officially initiating a sector-wide valuation repair. On March 4th, although the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 1.96% in the morning session amid broad market pressure, the three stocks demonstrated remarkable resilience by refusing to decline further, providing a clear signal that a bottom had been formed.
This stabilization essentially represents a market correction following the marginal easing of multiple negative factors that had suppressed the sector. On one hand, recently released US economic data significantly alleviated market concerns about stagflation. February ADP employment figures hit a three-month high, the ISM Services PMI reached its highest level since July 2022, while the services price paid component index fell to a near one-year low. This led to a broad return of global risk appetite, with all three major US stock indices closing higher overnight and the Nasdaq Composite rising 1.3%. Notably, AI application software stocks were at the forefront of this US market rebound; Applovin soared 10% in a single day, and global AI leader for government and enterprise, Palantir, gained over 4%, significantly outperforming the Nasdaq and the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks. On the other hand, Middle East geopolitical panic has been largely priced in by the market, the upward trend in US Treasury yields has slowed, and the trading environment for global tech growth stocks is experiencing marginal improvement. More importantly, after the deep correction, stock valuations have returned to reasonable ranges. Coupled with performance validation of commercialization capabilities, the market's pricing logic for the AI sector has shifted back from "hype premium" to fundamentals and long-term sector value, prompting sustained capital回流 into leading companies with technological barriers and practical application scenarios.
From a capital flow perspective, short-selling momentum has been largely depleted, with reversal signals appearing for HAIZHI TECH GP. As of March 4, 2026, the core selling pressure on HAIZHI TECH GP during this decline was concentrated in two institutions: Haiying Securities and SPDB International Securities. Data shows that over the past 10 trading days, Haiying Securities accumulated net sales of 4.5324 million shares, reducing its holding ratio to just 0.06%, indicating it has nearly cleared its previous position. SPDB International Securities accumulated net sales of 2.4894 million shares during the same period, with its holding ratio dropping 0.2124% in the past week to 1.22%, suggesting concentrated release of short-term selling pressure.
In stark contrast to the concentrated sell-off, institutions including Futu Securities International (Hong Kong), CMB International Securities, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, BOC International Securities, and福德证券 have emerged as the primary buyers during this adjustment. Specifically, Futu Securities increased its shareholding to 4.5244 million shares over the past week, raising its holding ratio by 0.0967% sequentially. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation net purchased 1.7056 million shares during the same period, while CMB International, BOC International, and福德证券 also saw increases in their holding ratios. This capital movement clearly indicates that the main selling pressure from institutions that entered during the IPO and grey market phases and sought quick profits through short-term "T+n" trading has been largely exhausted, and short-selling momentum has been fully released. Conversely, secondary market capital, represented by Futu Securities and bullish on the company's long-term value and sector prospects, has established positions at lower price levels.
As the external environment and the broader Hong Kong market gradually stabilize, and investment sentiment towards the AI sector continues to recover, HAIZHI TECH GP, which experienced the deepest decline during the recent correction, is poised for a significant consecutive rebound. This outlook is supported by the exhaustion of short-selling momentum and the continued entry of supportive buying interest.
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