Chinese Equities Open Sharply Higher on AI Optimism
TREE NEWS reports: Chinese equities opened broadly higher on September 18, with the ChiNext Index climbing over 1.5% and the Hang Seng Tech Index advancing more than 1.4%. The rally was led by semiconductor, AI hardware, and biotech names, while commodity markets saw precious metals surge and energy futures plunge.
By mid-morning, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.48%, the Shenzhen Component gained 1.08%, and the ChiNext Index rose 1.56%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.85%, with the tech-heavy Hang Seng Tech Index up 1.41%. Memory chip makers stood out, with CXMT, GigaDevice, Montage Technology, and DapuStor all gaining around 3%. CPO concept stocks surged, with Mingpu Optomagnetic hitting the daily limit and T&S Communications up over 10%.
Market Implications: AI-Driven Demand Reshapes Sector Leadership
The rally was catalyzed by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s remarks at an AI summit in Scotland, where he projected that the company’s chip sales would double by 2027 as AI permeates healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services. Overnight, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3.14%, with ARM up 8.57%, AMD up 6.36%, and Micron up over 5%. In Asia, SK Hynix rose over 4% and Samsung Electronics gained nearly 3%.
Separately, AI cloud provider Nebius announced a 20% average price increase for its GPU cloud services starting October 1, signaling persistent demand-supply imbalances in compute markets. Meanwhile, Japanese photoresist makers JSR, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, and Shin-Etsu Chemical announced a 15% global price hike effective October 2026, with spot prices rising 32–38%.
In biotech, Novo Nordisk and Anthropic announced a partnership to leverage AI models for drug discovery, lifting AI pharma names like Berry Genomics, which hit the daily limit, and Baipu Saishi, up over 10%. Humanoid robotics stocks also gained, with Wanxiang Qianchao approaching the limit-up.
Commodities Diverge: Gold Surges, Energy Plunges
Commodity markets showed sharp divergence. Precious metals led gains, with Shanghai silver up 2% and gold futures approaching $4,400 an ounce. Copper and tin rose 1%. However, energy futures collapsed, with coking coal and crude oil plunging over 6%, and fuel oil and coke falling more than 3%. Iron ore, eggs, and polysilicon declined.
Bond markets were stable, with 30-year and 10-year Chinese government bond futures edging up 0.03% and 0.01%, respectively, while shorter maturities were flat.
Key Takeaways for Investors
- AI infrastructure remains the dominant theme: Nvidia’s bullish sales outlook and GPU pricing power underscore sustained demand across the semiconductor supply chain, from memory chips to optical components.
- Biotech is converging with AI: Partnerships like Novo Nordisk-Anthropic highlight how AI is accelerating drug discovery, creating new investment opportunities in AI-driven pharma.
- Commodity divergence signals shifting macro expectations: Gold’s surge reflects safe-haven demand and inflation hedging, while energy’s slump suggests growth concerns or supply dynamics at play.
- Policy and pricing power: Photoresist price hikes and GPU cloud pricing increases indicate upstream pricing power, which could pressure margins for downstream users but benefit suppliers.
Investors should watch for follow-through in semiconductor and AI hardware names, while remaining cautious on energy-linked equities amid weak crude prices. The synchronized rally in Chinese and Hong Kong tech shares suggests improving risk appetite, but volatility in commodities warrants hedged positioning.
