Mainland tech shares rallied on Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street and across Asia on hopes the global AI-driven sell-off was easing, though key indices still posted hefty losses in July, with the tech-focused Star ⁠50 suffering its worst month on record.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 25 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,884 on turnover of HK$328.18 billion.

The tech index rose 25 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,829 while the China enterprises index fell 32 points, or 0.4 percent, to 8,612.

Up north, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended up 27 points, or 0.72 percent, at 3,832.

The Shenzhen Component Index was 293 points, or 2.21 percent, higher at 13,578 while the ChiNext Index was 99 points, or 3.06 percent, higher at 3,343.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by the Shanghai and Shenzhen indices stood at 2.54 trillion yuan, up from 2.34 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Electronic information, ceramics and medical device shares led gains while stocks related to finance, liquor, and pesticides and fertilisers suffered losses.

The Star 50 index rose 3 percent for the day but plunged 25.9 percent for the month.

A rebound in tech shares helped offset the monthly losses in benchmark indices, though the Shanghai Composite remained ⁠down 6.4 percent in July to notch the biggest monthly ⁠drop since March, while CSI300 declined ⁠7.9 percent and looked set for its worst monthly performance since July 2021.

The sharp turnaround on Friday came after ⁠China's leaders pledged at a meeting ‌on Thursday to make efforts to achieve breakthroughs in frontier technologies and promote the development of future industries.

"While there ‌was a lack of major surprises on stimulus measures for property and consumption, the ⁠July Politburo meeting again highlighted 'deepening the comprehensive reform of capital market financing and investment' and a focus on 'bolstering the market resilience and investor confidence'," analysts at BNP Paribas said in a note.

"Amid ‌recent equity weakness, this appears to reflect policymakers' commitment to supporting the market," they said.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei share average closed 2,494 points, or 4.03 percent, higher at 64,362 after surging 5.7 percent at one stage. The broader Topix rose 50 points, or 1.83 percent, to 4,003.

In Seoul, the Kospi soared almost 1,002 points, or 17.91 percent, to 6,595 in a record-setting session but remains 1.4 percent lower for the week, extending its losing streak to ⁠a sixth straight week. (Reuters & Xinhua)


Edited by Edmond Fong