SHANGHAI: China and Hong Kong stocks rose on Friday and were set to end the week higher as a slew of better-than-expected China economic data lifted market sentiment.
China stocks edge up in broader Asian rally
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index climbed 0.5% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng added 0.2%.
China’s economy ended 2024 on better footing than expected, helped by a flurry of stimulus measures. The economy grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, significantly beating analysts’ expectations and marking the quickest rise since the second quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, industrial output grew 6.2% from a year earlier in December 2O24, beating expectations and marked the fastest growth since April 2024.
The CSI300 and Hang Seng index were set to close the week 2.3% and 2.6% higher, respectively.
Technology and semiconductor shares led gains in China and Hong Kong as investors traded around themes of independent innovation amid the threat of a new trade war with the United States.
China’s tech and semiconductor indexes rose 1.8% and 2.8%, respectively.
In Hong Kong, China’s top chip foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) surged 10%, hovering near the highest since July 2020.
Real estate stocks advanced 0.6%, after official data showed China’s new homes prices stopped falling month-on-month in December 2024 for the first time in 18 months.
However, China’s real estate giant Vanke slumped 6.2% and 4.8% in the offshore and onshore market, respectively, after media reported that authorities had detained its chief executive.