Market News: Hong Kong's Hang Seng Closes Marginally Higher as Precious Metals Rally and AI Names Fall

The Hang Seng Index closed up 0.07% in Hong Kong on Friday while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.33%, according to Bitget market data.Precious metals gained throughout the session. China Silver Group and Summit Resources both closed up more than 7%. On the other side, Zhipu fell over 6% and MINIMAX-W more than 4%.The Split Tracks a Global PatternThe divergence between precious metals strength and AI weakness mirrors what has been visible across markets for several weeks.The metals bid runs through the same sovereign-risk channel that has driven gold above $4,600 — up roughly 15% over the past month and above its 200-day average — as US national debt approached $40 trillion and long-dated yields hit multi-decade highs across the US, Japan, Germany and France simultaneously. BlackRock has cited US fiscal issues as a bullish tailwind for scarce assets, and Ray Dalio said investors should own some Bitcoin as debt risks rise.The AI names falling is the more locally specific move, and it comes in a session where the trade should have been supported. Nvidia's guidance of $108 billion for the third quarter, against $103.9 billion expected, drove a 9% surge that added $442 billion in market value and lifted the Nasdaq 1.3%. MSCI's Asia Pacific index gained half a percent led by SK Hynix and Samsung, and South Korea's Kospi rose nearly 2%.Chinese AI names not participating in that lift points to something separate from the demand story — China's DUV lithography breakthrough reshaped the competitive picture across the region earlier in the summer, and the Wall Street Journal reported this week that Nvidia paused some deals in a financing initiative extending credit support to AI cloud providers.Gold Slipping as Bitcoin HoldsGold itself slipped to $4,587 an ounce on Friday even as the Hong Kong metals equities rallied, a divergence between the commodity and the miners that is common when equity flows lag the underlying.Bitcoin held just under $80,000 after an overnight run to $81,280, up roughly 9% on the week, with spot ETFs absorbing $2.8 billion across eight consecutive sessions. Brent eased below $90 after Iran and Oman agreed terms on administering the Strait of Hormuz, and the 10-year Treasury yield held at 4.67%, seven basis points lower on the week.Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivers his first Jackson Hole keynote later Friday, three weeks before the September 16 FOMC meeting.