SSE Composite Up 0.52%: Innovative Pharma and AI Applications Lead Gains, Hang Seng Tech Index Rises Nearly 2%
Claire Weston
A-shares ground higher on July 10, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.52%; biopharma and AI applications led the rally. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech Index rose nearly 2% intraday, driven by a surge in biopharma licensing deals and expanding semiconductor capex expectations.
Which sectors rose and which fell?
The Shanghai Composite gained 0.52%, the Shenzhen Component 0.77%, while the ChiNext dipped 0.03%.
Leaders: innovative drugs, CROs, AI applications, and the chip/semiconductor supply chain were active intraday.
Laggards: brokerages, coal, and lithium miners weakened. This means → capital rotated out of cyclicals and financials into higher-growth pharma and tech names.
Why did Hong Kong rally in tandem?
The Hang Seng Index rose 1.43%. The Hang Seng Tech Index hit nearly 2% intraday, up 1.94% at time of writing.
Standout movers: SenseTime surged over 5%; Kuaishou and Horizon Robotics gained over 4%; SMIC and Hua Hong rose over 6%.
AI large-model stocks fell — Zhipu and MINIMAX both dropped more than 5%. In plain terms = the market is paying up for "AI that ships product," while staying cautious on companies still burning cash on model training.
What triggered the biopharma breakout?
Medicilon jumped over 12%, Harbin Pharma hit the daily limit, with Frontage Labs, Cube Pharma, and Enoise following.
The catalyst: China's outbound biopharma licensing (BD) deals totaled $99.7 billion in H1 2026 — already 73% of 2025's full-year $135.7 billion.
This means → overseas drugmakers are recognizing Chinese pipelines at an accelerating pace; the market treats BD deal volume as a "thermometer" for sector momentum.
What is driving the semiconductor and AI rally?
Semiconductor-equipment stocks climbed repeatedly; Shenzhen Keda hit its second consecutive 20 cm limit-up, while Yaxiang Integration and Xuguang Electronics also hit limits.
Direct catalyst: Micron announced plans to raise its total U.S. investment to over $250 billion by 2035, lifting HBM — high-bandwidth memory — advanced packaging, and memory-chip concept stocks across the board.
Glass substrates — using glass instead of traditional organic material as a chip-packaging base — also rebounded. Yarmaton and Three Gorges New Materials hit limits; plasma-equipment maker Huisheng said it has secured validation from major fabs and entered the glass-substrate market.
How did bonds and commodities perform?
Treasury futures were range-bound: the 30-year lead contract slipped 0.05%; the 10-year, 5-year, and 2-year contracts were flat.
Commodities diverged: Shanghai silver rose 3%, polysilicon, pulp, and industrial silicon gained over 2%; coking coal and crude oil fell more than 2%, lithium carbonate and coke dropped over 1%.
This reflects a risk-on tilt — capital chased precious metals and upstream new-energy materials while avoiding traditional energy and chemicals.
Can this rally last?
Today's twin drivers: surging biopharma BD deals + semiconductor capex expansion expectations.
The key variable ahead: interim-results season is approaching, and the market needs to see earnings support for current valuations.
In plain terms = the news lit the fire, but how long it burns depends on whether companies' half-year profit numbers can back it up.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.