HONG KONG: China stocks inched higher on Monday, led by technology shares, as strong industrial profit growth and renewed AI enthusiasm outweighed concerns over stalled peace talks between the US and Iran.
The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.2 percent at 4,086.34 points after a two-day slide. China’s blue-chip CSI300 index closed flat.
Technology stocks led gains, bolstered by renewed excitement about artificial intelligence spending that has lifted chip shares across the region.
The Nasdaq-style Star 50 Index rallied 3.8 percent to a three-month high. The CSI Semiconductor Index surged 6 percent to a three-month high and the CSI Info Tech Index jumped 3.3 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gave up earlier gains to end 0.2 percent lower at 25,925.65, and the Hang Seng Tech Index was up 0.8 percent.
Profits at China’s industrial firms grew at their quickest pace in half a year last month, adding to broader signs of an uneven economic recovery in the first quarter as policymakers brace for the impact of the Middle East war.
However, stalled US-Iran peace talks kept investor sentiment in check after US President Donald Trump cancelled a trip to Islamabad by US envoys for talks on the weekend.
“Equity markets have gradually returned to pricing on fundamental despite recurring external geopolitical headwinds,” analysts at Guotai Haitong Securities said in a note.
Thematic rotation has picked up pace and risk appetite is on the mend, with a shift from overseas supply chains to domestic substitution remaining a key theme to watch, they said.
Elsewhere, China’s top leadership will hold the April Politburo meeting this week to discuss economic policies for the coming months.
“We expect policymakers to express greater concerns about the global energy shock and rising geopolitical uncertainties,” instead of additional easing measures,” analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note.
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