Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Monday said he is cautiously optimistic about the city's stock market performance in the Year of the Snake.

At an opening ceremony as the bourse began its first trading session of the new year, Chan noted that stocks saw their best performance in seven years during the Year of the Dragon, with the benchmark index rising more than 28 percent.

The finance chief said he has consulted several popular artificial intelligence large language models on the SAR's outlook for the coming 12 months and all suggested the markets will be "flexible, smooth and prosperous", despite external challenges including from geopolitics and trade tariffs.

"Regarding the market outlook for the Year of the Snake, I am cautiously optimistic and happy to see a better performance," he said.

"With the strong support from the country, along with the cooperation between the SAR government, regulators, and the industry, we can actively and flexibly respond to challenges, seize opportunities and explore new ideas and measures to further enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of the city's listing platform, while pushing the city's finance industry to new heights," he added.

Echoing Chan, chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) Carlson Tong said officials will continue to roll out new financial products, and will carry out reforms to woo investors and global enterprises.

"Despite ongoing challenges, I'm optimistic about the coming year with the planned new product launches, multi-year platforms development, market reforms, and expansion of our international networks," Tong said.

"This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the HKEX, underscoring our commitment to innovation and growth," he added.