HONG KONG: China and Hong Kong stocks rose in morning trade on Thursday as upbeat Chinese trade data added fuel to the recent market rally despite renewed U.S. tariff threats.
China’s exports beat forecasts in July with outbound shipments up 7.2% year-on-year, customs data showed, as manufacturers made the most of a tariff truce with the U.S.
Markets largely looked past U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments that he could announce further tariffs on goods from China, similar to the 25% duties slapped earlier on India over its Russian oil purchases, depending on what happens.
Investors remain focused on the August 12 deadline, waiting to see if Beijing and Washington could reach a durable tariff agreement.
The market shows a risk-on mood with better China July exports, and domestic conviction remains solid, Wee Khoon Chong, a senior APAC market strategist at BNY, Hong Kong, said in a note.
BNY maintains its view that the Shanghai benchmark would test 3,700, he added.
At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.1% at 3,638.40, after closing at its highest since late 2021 on Wednesday. The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.1%.
The semiconductor sector led the way, with a 1.3% gain despite Trump saying the U.S. could levy a 100% tariff on some chip imports, as analysts say the move only has limited impact on Chinese chipmakers and could accelerate domestic production.
Defensive sectors including banks, liquor and consumer staples were up 0.2%-0.5%.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index also reversed earlier losses with a 0.5% gain, and the tech index added 0.5%.
Local developers jumped 2.2% as New World Development surged as much as 16% on a report of take-private talks.