Chinese GPU maker's market debut lifts China's A-shares: analyst

China's A-shares posted modest gains on Friday, as investors raised their confidence in AI and semiconductor stocks, while a Chinese technology firm which has drawn comparisons to Nvidia made a very strong debut, according to a market analyst.

Chinese stocks closed higher on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.7 percent to 3,902.81 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.08 percent higher at 13,147.68 points.

The combined turnover of these two indices stood at 1.73 trillion yuan (about 245 billion U.S. dollars), up from 1.55 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN), said the gain was mostly down to AI and chip stocks.

"Lately when the markets make a significant shift, it's because of one of two things: AI or semiconductors. Arguably, they're very closely linked, but that was certainly the case today. It was chips leading the rebound as the Chinese mainland markets snapped a three-session losing streak. The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.7 percent higher. We saw the Shenzhen Component Index up by more than 1 percent," he said.

Pope also detailed how much of the spotlight on the markets was on the Beijing-based tech firm, Moore Threads Technology, which specializes in making graphics processing units.

"This is one of the Chinese firms that gets compared to Nvidia. It makes those GPUs, graphics processing units, just like Nvidia does, and it debuted today on the Shanghai markets, rising an incredible 425 percent by the end of the session. Anyone who got a slice of this IPO will be very happy this afternoon. Issue prices on the Chinese mainland tend to be a little bit on the low end, guaranteeing that sort of first-day pop, but the issue price for Moore Threads was around 114 yuan, and shares opened today at 650 yuan each. They did come back a little bit off, that ending at around 600 each. And this for a company which, like many in this space, has still yet to turn a profit. But it did make almost eight billion yuan off the IPO. This will definitely be a stock to watch over the next few months, because the markets are already a little bit concerned about valuations in the tech sector, and among AI and chip firms in particular. Moore Threads, as a GPU maker, straddles both of those sectors and with more cheap IPO in the pipeline for the Chinese mainland markets. It will be interesting to see whether they can continue to have such stellar openings and whether these valuations can be sustained," he explained.

"Beyond tech stocks today, the mainland markets were broadly higher. Energy shares were dipping a little bit. These traditional energy stocks and bank shares as well seem to be on the opposite end of the market seesaw from the chip sector at the moment," Pope added.

Chinese GPU maker's market debut lifts China's A-shares: analyst

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.

The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.

Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.

Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.

A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting