China stocks higher, set to end week flat as investors await fresh cues

SHANGHAI: China stocks rose on Friday but were headed for a flat week as an earnings lull kept investors cautious ahead of fresh policy signals, while Hong Kong shares were set for a weekly decline. China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both gained 0.6 percent by the lunch break. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was up 0.7 percent.

The CSI300 Index was up just 0.1 percent so far this week, while the Hang Seng Index was down 1.1 percent. The CSI Index was largely flat this month after a 16percent rally this year.

Chinese chip stocks were little changed after Reuters reported the Trump administration has launched a review that could allow the first shipments of Nvidia’s second-most powerful artificial intelligence chips to China.

Onshore AI shares rose 1.3 percent, while Hong Kong-listed tech majors were 1.1 percent higher, after hitting a five-month low earlier this week.

The CSI Tourism Index, with the China Tourism Group Duty Free up 7.3 percent, after China launched a USD113 billion free-trade experiment on Hainan island.

Nomura analysts said the gap between the property sector and exports is likely to persist, forecasting China’s GDP growth at 4.3 percent in 2026, easing to 4.1 percent in the first half before rebounding to 4.5 percent in the second on expected spring stimulus and a lower base.