HK Stock Market Move | Gold stocks fell further in the afternoon, and precious metals rose for two consecutive days before falling back. The soaring oil prices could drag down the performance of gold.

In the afternoon, the gold stocks fell further. As of the time of publication, Zijin Gold Intl (02259) fell by 8.74%, to 223.4 Hong Kong dollars; CHINAGOLDINTL (02099) fell by 8.3%, to 194.4 Hong Kong dollars; Zijin Mining Group (02899) fell by 6.13%, to 43.22 Hong Kong dollars; Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining (06693) fell by 5.58%, to 42 Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, spot gold fell intraday, nearing the $5300 mark; spot silver lost the $87 per ounce mark, falling over 3% intraday; Shanghai silver futures fell by 6.00% intraday. Precious metals have been rising for two consecutive days, with some analysts pointing out that the accumulated increase in gold prices in February exceeds 8%, indicating that the market has already priced in potential geopolitical risks to a certain extent, resulting in a relatively weakened breakout after the news was released. Fa Ciba stated that if the escalation of the situation in the Middle East affects the safety of shipping in the strait, it will directly lead to a surge in oil prices. The substantial increase in oil prices will not only exacerbate global stagflation concerns but also strengthen market expectations for central banks to delay interest rate cuts. Stagflation will weaken the inflation-hedging advantage of gold, while delaying interest rate cuts will increase the opportunity costs of holding gold. The combined effect of these two factors is weighing down on the performance of precious metals.