[ET Net News Agency, 06 February 2026] US stocks saw another round of heavy selling overnight, with disappointing jobs data and renewed anxiety about AI-related displacement dragging down sentiment. Leading tech shares continued to fall, with all three main Wall Street indices closing lower. Precious metals came under intense pressure, as spot silver plunged as much as 18.1%, and Bitcoin slumped to as low as USD 62,353, its weakest level since November 2024. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) opened over 500 points down, but gradually pared its losses to end the morning session at 26,580, a drop of 304 points, or 1.1%. Main board turnover was nearly HKD 139.5 billion. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was down 47 points, or 0.5%, at 9,045, while the Hang Seng Tech Index lost 25 points, or 0.5%, finishing at 5,380.
"Lee Wai Kit: HSI likely to trade in a 26,000 to 27,500 range"
With global assets rattled, the HSI could not escape the risk-off mood, gapping down by over 500 points at the open before finding support at both its 100-day (around 26,286) and 50-day (around 26,287) moving averages, limiting the day's losses to just over 300 points. Lee Wai Kit, a financial commentator of TF International, told ET Net News Agency that adjustment pressures remain high, and investor sentiment is cautious. He expects the HSI to enter a period of range-bound trading in the absence of significantly negative news, with deep corrections unlikely. Given thinner trading ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, Lee Wai Kit forecasts the HSI will trade between 26,000 and 27,500. He also noted that previously pressured tech stocks found support today, suggesting a possible rotation, with tech set to rebound as traditional sectors consolidate.
Despite the index's steep drop, consumer stocks on the Mainland China remained resilient. Lee Wai Kit highlighted that consumer stocks have generally rebounded since November last year, boosted by policy support and the seasonal tailwinds of the Lunar New Year. In an environment of heightened AI disruption, he expects retail names to attract capital rotation, and sees further upside for the sector in the first quarter. He noted that appliance stocks, backed by steady medium-to-long-term earnings growth, have continued to outperform tech shares recently, with Midea Group (00300) worth monitoring near its 10-day moving average of 86 yuan, and Haier Smart Home (06690) offering a potential entry point around 26.3 yuan. Within restaurant stocks, he is positive on Haidilao (06862) and Yum China (09987): Haidilao benefits from founder-led reforms, while Yum China's latest operating data is promising. For strategy, Lee Wai Kit suggests accumulating Haidilao if it falls back to the HKD 15.8-16.2 range, and buying Yum China in tranches if it fills the gap back towards HKD 400.
Even traditional safe-haven assets like gold were not spared amid the broad selloff. Lee Wai Kit noted that recent sharp corrections in gold prices are closely linked to speculative spikes that briefly saw gold surge from USD 5,000 to 5,600 in a very short period. He still sees gold's investment appeal as intact, with the price target for this year remaining at USD 5,500. The rapid correction after the overshoot suggests the outlook is stabilising, especially if the US Dollar Index ranges between 96 and 98. Gold is likely to stay relatively weak for now but not tumble again; strong support exists in the USD 4,500 to 4,800 range, so investors could consider phased buying when prices recover to that band.
"Wall Street software selloff expected to continue through the month"
The wave of selling in US software stocks has shown little sign of letting up. A report from data analytics firm S3 Partners highlighted that short sellers have booked USD 24 billion in mark-to-market profits on US software names this year, while the sector's total market value has shrunk by USD 1 trillion. Lee Wai Kit observed that this correction is difficult to call timing-wise, as shares continue to fall after earnings regardless of performance, and the trend will likely persist for at least the rest of the month. He has noticed a clear rotation into classic consumer names like Coca-Cola and McDonald's. In his view, only when a software company delivers significantly better-than-expected results, sparking a reversal in share price, will the sector's negative sentiment start to turn; for now, there remains no clear sign of that happening.
"Lee Wai Kit: HSI likely to trade in a 26,000 to 27,500 range"
With global assets rattled, the HSI could not escape the risk-off mood, gapping down by over 500 points at the open before finding support at both its 100-day (around 26,286) and 50-day (around 26,287) moving averages, limiting the day's losses to just over 300 points. Lee Wai Kit, a financial commentator of TF International, told ET Net News Agency that adjustment pressures remain high, and investor sentiment is cautious. He expects the HSI to enter a period of range-bound trading in the absence of significantly negative news, with deep corrections unlikely. Given thinner trading ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, Lee Wai Kit forecasts the HSI will trade between 26,000 and 27,500. He also noted that previously pressured tech stocks found support today, suggesting a possible rotation, with tech set to rebound as traditional sectors consolidate.
Despite the index's steep drop, consumer stocks on the Mainland China remained resilient. Lee Wai Kit highlighted that consumer stocks have generally rebounded since November last year, boosted by policy support and the seasonal tailwinds of the Lunar New Year. In an environment of heightened AI disruption, he expects retail names to attract capital rotation, and sees further upside for the sector in the first quarter. He noted that appliance stocks, backed by steady medium-to-long-term earnings growth, have continued to outperform tech shares recently, with Midea Group (00300) worth monitoring near its 10-day moving average of 86 yuan, and Haier Smart Home (06690) offering a potential entry point around 26.3 yuan. Within restaurant stocks, he is positive on Haidilao (06862) and Yum China (09987): Haidilao benefits from founder-led reforms, while Yum China's latest operating data is promising. For strategy, Lee Wai Kit suggests accumulating Haidilao if it falls back to the HKD 15.8-16.2 range, and buying Yum China in tranches if it fills the gap back towards HKD 400.
Even traditional safe-haven assets like gold were not spared amid the broad selloff. Lee Wai Kit noted that recent sharp corrections in gold prices are closely linked to speculative spikes that briefly saw gold surge from USD 5,000 to 5,600 in a very short period. He still sees gold's investment appeal as intact, with the price target for this year remaining at USD 5,500. The rapid correction after the overshoot suggests the outlook is stabilising, especially if the US Dollar Index ranges between 96 and 98. Gold is likely to stay relatively weak for now but not tumble again; strong support exists in the USD 4,500 to 4,800 range, so investors could consider phased buying when prices recover to that band.
"Wall Street software selloff expected to continue through the month"
The wave of selling in US software stocks has shown little sign of letting up. A report from data analytics firm S3 Partners highlighted that short sellers have booked USD 24 billion in mark-to-market profits on US software names this year, while the sector's total market value has shrunk by USD 1 trillion. Lee Wai Kit observed that this correction is difficult to call timing-wise, as shares continue to fall after earnings regardless of performance, and the trend will likely persist for at least the rest of the month. He has noticed a clear rotation into classic consumer names like Coca-Cola and McDonald's. In his view, only when a software company delivers significantly better-than-expected results, sparking a reversal in share price, will the sector's negative sentiment start to turn; for now, there remains no clear sign of that happening.