SHANGHAI: Shanghai stock benchmark edged higher on Wednesday and looked set for a sixth straight winning session, while Hong Kong shares advanced, supported by regional market strength in holiday-thinned trading.
By the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.24%. If the gains hold through the close, it would have logged its sixth consecutive advance, the longest winning streak since July.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index slipped 0.12%.
Global investors are increasing their wagers on Chinese artificial intelligence companies, betting on the next DeepSeek and seeking to diversify, with concerns growing about a speculative bubble in the sector on Wall Street.
So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 17.2%? and the CSI300 has risen 17.3%, while China’s H-share index listed in Hong Kong is up 22.3%.
“We expect the bull run to continue, but at a slower pace,” analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note.
“This is reminiscent of an equity cycle transition from Hope to Growth where both earnings realization and moderate PE expansion in the latter typically supersede strong but volatile re-rating gains in the former to drive returns,” they said, expecting Chinese stocks to rise 38% by end-2027.
President Trump’s administration on Tuesday said it will slap tariffs on Chinese semiconductor imports over Beijing’s “unreasonable” pursuit of chip industry dominance, but would delay the action until June 2027.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.17%, while the tech index gained 0.19%.
Hong Kong’s market will be closed for the afternoon session on Christmas Eve and will remain shut on Thursday and Friday for the Christmas holidays.
Trading will resume on December 29.
Asian shares advanced on Wednesday, capping a year of brisk AI-driven gains, while commodities such as gold and silver extended their bullish run to new all-time highs as 2025 draws to a close.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.36%, while Japan’s Nikkei index was up 0.08%.‑Reuters
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