China stocks steady as chip rally offsets drag in metals, consumer shares

SHANGHAI: China stocks held steady on Thursday, as a rally in chipmakers and AI-linked shares offset weakness in metals and consumer stocks following mixed inflation data, while Hong Kong equities declined. China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index held its ground at 4,758 points by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.8%. Consumer staples shares retreated after data showed China’s consumer price index eased in June, while producer price inflation surged to its strongest level since July 2022. Semiconductor shares led gains on the mainland, rising 3.1%, after memory-chip maker Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) said it would start book-building on July 15 for its planned Shanghai IPO, which aims to raise 29.5 billion yuan ($4.34 billion). GigaDevice, a CXMT shareholder, climbed 6.1%, snapping a seven-session losing streak, while GPU designer Moore Threads surged 15%. The tech-focused STAR50 index rose 3.2%. Sentiment toward China Internet has improved this month, with the Hang Seng Tech Index up 12% from its 1-1/2-year low hit in June. Alibaba rose as much as 5%, before paring gains, as its AI narrative gathered momentum ahead of its quarterly earnings release. UBS Research forecasts the e-commerce giant’s cloud revenue growth to accelerate to 45% year-on-year for the June quarter, with its model-as-a-service business on track and quick-commerce losses narrowing sharply. Onshore non-ferrous metal shares fell 4.3%, while the Coal Index dropped 1.5%. The CSI New Energy Vehicles Index was down 3%. Oil-related stocks showed little reaction to renewed Gulf tensions. CNOOC shares edged 0.1% lower. China’s central bank said on Wednesday that it would maintain an appropriately loose monetary policy and ramp up financial support to revive domestic consumption. ‑Reuters