HONG KONG: China and Hong Kong stocks advanced on Friday with Shanghai composite logging its third consecutive weekly rise, as better-than-expected trade data helped sentiment recover.
At the close, China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index climbed 0.9 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1 percent. Both indexes ended the week higher.
Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was up 0.5 percent, but closed the week slightly down.
China’s exports beat expectations in July, remaining a key pillar of economic growth for the manufacturing powerhouse, as the global AI infrastructure buildout continued to power demand for high-tech goods.
Exports of semiconductors almost doubled in value terms from last year.
Analysts said AI-related demand continued to support exports, and China’s trade data is likely to remain strong in the third quarter.
Market sentiment was also boosted by improving global risk appetite towards AI-related investment themes, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note.
By sector, biotech, rare earth and telecommunications led the gains.
Solar companies rose 2 percent despite recent US tariffs on polysilicon products, boosted by an agreement among eight major domestic producers in Shanghai to curb destructive price wars.
Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech giants climbed 0.8 percent. Morgan Stanley said the bank preferred Hong Kong stocks in the near term given they are less exposed to the crowded global AI trade while earnings are bottoming.
Analysts pointed out that the market should also watch out for the intensified China-US AI tensions.
“With a potential (Trump-Xi) meeting expected in September, near-term volatility in policy rhetoric is likely to remain elevated,” ANZ economists said in a note.
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