SHANGHAI: China’s blue-chip stock index fell on Thursday, as investors took profits in financial shares, while Hong Kong equities dropped following Wall Street’s overnight weakness.
The blue-chip CSI300 Index lost 0.5% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index was flat.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined 1.2%.
China’s financial stocks dropped 1.5%, on track for their worst day in nearly seven weeks, as investors pocketed gains following a recent rebound.
Chinese brokerages, banks and insurers were big drags for the market.
In Hong Kong, sentiment was soured by overnight selloffs in US-listed, China-focused funds .
UBS said it remained upbeat on China stocks after a stellar performance in 2025.
UBS forecast a 14% profit growth this year for companies underlying MSCI China, according to Janice Hu, China Country Head, UBS.
“The Hong Kong market remains pretty attractive in 2026,” Hu said during a presser on Wednesday, citing a rush by Chinese companies to expand overseas, global investors’ need for asset allocation and Hong Kong’s unique status as a connector.
China’s artificial intelligence stocks rose on Thursday, after the country vowed to achieve secure and reliable supply of key core AI technologies by 2027.
Shares of Chinese makers of semiconductor materials, including Tangshan Sunfar Silicon Industries Co and Hubei Heyuan Gas surged, after China’s commerce ministry said it was launching an anti-dumping probe into imports of chemicals used in chipmaking.
Chinese chipmakers also climbed on news that Beijing had asked some Chinese tech companies to halt orders for Nvidia’s H200 chips, and was expected to mandate domestic AI chip purchases.
In Hong Kong, three Chinese technology firms - AI startup Knowledge Atlas Technology, semiconductor firm Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX and surgical robotics company Shenzhen Edge Medical - debuted higher after raising a combined $1.19 billion, setting the tone for what could be yet another busy year for new listings in Hong Kong.‑Reuters
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.