Hong Kong, Feb 20, 2026, 19:33 HKT — Market closed.
- Tencent closed down about 2% after Hong Kong reopened from the Lunar New Year break, tracking a broader tech selloff.
- Tencent said its Yuanbao AI assistant crossed 50 million daily users, but investors rotated into “pure AI” listings and took profit in big platforms.
- Traders now watch mainland markets reopening on Tuesday and Tencent’s annual results call on March 18.
Tencent Holdings Ltd shares ended down 2.06% at HK$522 on Friday, losing HK$11 on the day. The stock traded between HK$518 and HK$533 on volume of 21.35 million shares. (Investing)
The drop came as Hong Kong stocks slid on the first session after a three-day Lunar New Year holiday, led by technology names. The Hang Seng Index closed down 1.1% and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 2.9%, while Alibaba sank 4.9% and Baidu slid 6.3%, the South China Morning Post reported. Mainland China’s bourses are shut this week and reopen on Tuesday. (South China Morning Post)
The action matters now because the consumer AI race is starting to drive money flows across China tech, and investors are asking which firms can turn headline usage into earnings. “Money is rotating into pure AI names,” said Billy Leung, an investment strategist at Global X Management, as generative AI listings Zhipu and MiniMax jumped as much as 25% and 16% when trading resumed. “Investors are increasingly scrutinising how quickly their AI initiatives can contribute meaningfully to earnings,” Dilin Wu, a research strategist at Pepperstone Group, wrote. (The Business Times)
Tencent, which runs WeChat, tried to keep its own AI narrative moving. The company said its large-model product Yuanbao passed 50 million daily active users — people who open the app on a typical day — and reached 114 million monthly active users. It said it pushed 159 feature updates in 21 days and plans “random red packet” cash drops in chats on Feb. 21, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. (AA Stocks)
For Tencent, the market is starting to treat DAUs and MAUs as a quick scorecard, but those metrics don’t settle the harder question: monetisation. Usage can jump on promotions and still leave margins exposed if incentives and computing costs keep rising.
Mainland investors have also been out of the picture while onshore exchanges are closed, which takes away a regular source of demand for Hong Kong megacaps. Stock Connect — the cross-border trading link that lets mainland investors buy Hong Kong shares — comes back into play when Shanghai and Shenzhen reopen, and traders will be watching that early next week.
But the downside case is simple: the holiday bounce in app traffic fades once giveaways slow, and the bill for subsidies and AI infrastructure shows up before revenue does. If risk appetite stays shaky, big internet platforms can get sold first, even on “good” user numbers.
Near term, investors will be looking for more post-holiday datapoints on engagement and any fresh brokerage calls on how quickly AI features can feed advertising, payments or gaming. Monday’s Hong Kong session will also be a quick test of whether Friday’s selling was a one-off reset or the start of a deeper rotation.
Tencent’s next firm catalyst is its 2025 fourth-quarter and annual results announcement on March 18, with the conference call set for 20:00–21:00 Hong Kong time, according to the company’s investor calendar. Investors will be listening for detail on AI spending, product progress and whether core businesses are holding up. (Tencent)
