China stocks jump most in more than 2 months on chip shares' rally

China stocks jumped the most in over two months as local chip firms rallied after the United States stepped up its tech curbs.

** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index gained 1.75% to 3,216.00 points, the best single-day gain since Nov. 7. The blue-chip CSI300 index added 1.74%.

** Chip stocks led the gains onshore, with the CSI Semiconductor Industry Index strengthening 2.9%.


** China's biggest chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp climbed 2.9% and peer Hua Hong Semiconductor jumped 2.4%.

** The rally came as domestic investors continued piling up bets on the local chip players, after the U.S. government said on Monday it would further restrict artificial intelligence chip and technology exports while finding more ways to block China's access.

** In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 1.41% to bounce back from a four-month low, and the tech index jumped 2.26%.

** The gains have helped the market to claw back some ground after suffering the worst start to a New Year in a decade, as retail investors soured on stocks and fretted over policy and geopolitical uncertainties.

** "The market has cooled down quite a bit since the beginning of 2025, and with external disturbances starting to kick in, more policy support could come through to help stage a rebound," analysts at CITIC Securities said in a note.

** Investors are now also eyeing a press conference jointly hosted by the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange this afternoon to see if Beijing will step up efforts to shore up the economy and defend its currency.