China stocks set to end week at 10-month high on strong data; HK lags

Semiconductor Manufacturing International

08/08/2025 05:34

SHANGHAI, August 8 (Reuters) - China stocks climbed on Friday, on track to close the week at their highest level in 10 months, as upbeat economic data lifted sentiment and investors largely looked past U.S. tariff concerns. Hong Kong shares declined on the day.

** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 and the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC were up 1% each by the lunch break. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng .HSI slipped 0.7%.

** The Shanghai Composite Index rose to 3,642 points on Friday, its highest level since October 2024.

** China stocks have steadily climbed this week, supported by upbeat trade and service activity data. For the week, the CSI300 Index has gained 1.5% so far, while the Hang Seng Index rose 1.7%.

** "The market may be underpricing the risk of near-term deterioration in the U.S.-China relationship," said Morgan Stanley strategists led by Laura Wang.

** The strategists urged investors to monitor developments in trade tensions and flagged the upcoming NPC Standing Committee meeting and second-quarter earnings season as potential catalysts for market direction. In the interim, they expressed a preference for mainland-listed A-shares over their Hong Kong-listed H-share counterparts.

** U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he could announce further tariffs on China, similar to the 25% duties announced earlier on India over its purchases of Russian oil, depending on the developments in the trade discussions.

** China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with Trump's administration.

** Tech majors traded in Hong Kong .HSTECH were down 1%, while materials shares .HSCIM were up nearly 2%.

** Shares of semiconductors .CSIH30184 dropped 1.4%, weighed down by a nearly 6% fall in China's largest chipmaker SMIC 0981.HK after it reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

 (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

 ((li.gu@tr.com))