Mainland stocks closed up on Thursday, as strong revenue projections from US chip giant Nvidia boosted investor appetite for artificial intelligence and hardware-related shares.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 87 points, or 0.3 percent, to 25,565 on turnover of HK$233.51 billion.

The tech index, which is dominated by internet platform firms and lack major hardware makers, inched down five points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,620 while the China enterprises index fell 43 points, or 0.5 percent, to 8,490.

AI developer Minimax shares rose 3.8 percent after it posted a nearly four-fold jump in first-half revenue.

Zhongji ⁠Innolight climbed 3.1 percent on inclusion in the Stock Connect trading list.

The mainland stock gains saw the Shanghai Composite Index close up 44 points, or 1.13 percent, at 3,956 on turnover of 1.01 trillion yuan.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose 207 points, or 1.5 percent, to 14,048, on turnover of almost 1.12 trillion yuan while the ChiNext Index gained 58 points, or 1.71 percent, to 3,473 on turnover of 542.32 billion yuan.

Technology and hardware manufacturing shares led gains onshore.

The 5G Communication Index climbed 3.8 percent while onshore artificial intelligence shares rose 3.6 percent.

The tech-focused Star50 Index advanced ⁠3.8 percent.

Broader tech sentiment was lifted after ⁠Nvidia on Wednesday forecast a ⁠70 percent jump in annual revenue, underscoring unrelenting demand for artificial intelligence hardware even as it warned that memory component shortages would constrain growth.

Chinese memory chip giant CXMT jumped 5.4 percent while Shengyi Technology, a supplier of electronic base materials, surged 8.4 percent.

Optical fibre producers strengthened as well, with Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable surging 10 percent to its daily maximum.

Onshore non-ferrous metal shares extended a rally, rising 1.5 percent, led by gold miners, with Hunan Gold rising 10 percent to its daily trading maximum.

China's industrial firms reported slower profit growth in July, with export-focused sectors riding the global AI boom, while industries reliant ⁠on domestic demand remained under pressure.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei fell 130 points, or 0.2 percent, to end trading for the day at 66,131 after rising up to one percent.

The broader Topix rose six points, or 0.15 percent, to 4,117.

In Seoul, the Kospi closed up 104 points, or 1.53 percent, at 6,912 as South Korean shares rose more than one percent, with chipmakers jumping on upbeat demand forecasts by US peer Nvidia. (Reuters/Xinhua)




Edited by Tony Sabine