Hong Kong Stocks: Hang Seng Index Up 2.38% in Morning Session as Domestic Chip Stocks Surge
Alina Collins
The Hang Seng Index rose 560 points to 24,057 on July 8, with the Hang Seng Tech Index up 4.34%; domestic chips and mainland banks drove the rally in tandem as an AI conference catalyst met concentrated bank dividends.
Why did domestic chip stocks explode?
The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference is about to open, turning chips into the session's strongest theme. Engitech (09630) surged over 14%, Lightelligence (01879) rose 9.6%, Hua Hong (01347) gained over 8%, and SMIC (00981) added 7.5%.
Biren Technology (06082) climbed over 7% after announcing a RMB 7 billion fundraise for commercializing and producing its next-generation general-purpose GPU — a chip designed to handle a wide range of computing tasks. This means → the company is putting capital directly into mass production, not just telling a story.
In plain terms = the AI conference is the catalyst, but what really moved prices is the market seeing domestic chip firms start spending real money on production.
Which other AI-linked names are moving?
Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics (01385) issued a profit alert: first-half net profit is expected to rise 313% to 416% year-on-year; shares jumped over 7%. This means → profits at chip-design firms are materializing, not just valuations.
Zhipu AI (02513) surged 17%, triggered by cornerstone shareholders committing to long-term holdings and JPMorgan raising its target price.
Kuaishou (01024) rose over 6% after its Kling AI unit secured financing. The market is watching whether AI assets can be priced independently — if so, the valuation ceiling lifts.
Why are banks and oil stocks rallying together?
Mainland bank stocks led the broader market. Ten banks will distribute over RMB 90 billion in dividends this week, and institutions are bullish on the sector's Q3 outlook. CCB (00939) gained 3.9%; Bank of China (03988) added 3.5%.
This reflects a flight to certainty — high dividend yields and quarterly payouts are the market's most reliable "rental income" right now.
Oil stocks rose on renewed Middle East tension. Shandong Molong (00568) jumped 14% after a fresh U.S.–Iran clash just ten days after the last one, with the U.S. re-imposing sanctions on Iranian oil. In plain terms = when geopolitical risk heats up, oil-price expectations push oil stocks higher.
Four IPOs debuted — how did they perform?
Basic Semiconductor (09971) rose 13.2% on its first day; it ranks sixth in China's silicon-carbide power-module market — a high-efficiency chip material used in EVs and industrial equipment.
EQ Intelligent Driving (07687) gained 5%, holding the top spot in China's autonomous mining-vehicle sector. Momenta (06880), billed as the "first physical-AI stock," edged up 3.45% — calmer than its volatile grey-market trading suggested.
Baogai New Materials (08090) rose just 0.64%. This means → new listings split sharply: hard-tech labels attracted buyers; traditional manufacturing drew little interest.
Who bucked the rally?
Falling lithium-carbonate prices dragged lithium miners lower. Tianqi Lithium (09696) dropped 5.8%; Ganfeng Lithium (01772) fell 4.2%.
This reflects a market "picking sides" — capital is rotating out of commodities in a price downturn and piling into AI chips and high-dividend banks.
Whether lithium miners can stabilize depends on whether lithium-carbonate prices find a floor; for now, money favors the growth and yield ends of the spectrum.
What does today's market structure tell us?
Morning turnover hit HK$188.4 billion. The HSI rose 2.38%; the Hang Seng Tech Index gained 4.34% — tech outpaced the broader market by nearly double.
In plain terms = today's session runs on a "twin-engine" structure: AI chips on the growth side, mainland-bank dividends on the yield side, with capital flowing into both.
This means → the market is not blindly euphoric — it is placing parallel bets on growth and certainty. That structure tends to last longer than a single-theme rally.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.