AI listings boost Hong Kong market as Tokyo stocks rally on earnings: analyst

Hong Kong stocks rose Friday as Chinese AI startups prepared IPOs, with broader Asian markets also posting gains.

The Hang Seng Index advanced 0.32 percent to close at 26,231.79 points, lifted by optimism surrounding newly listed AI tech firms.

In Tokyo, equities also finished higher, buoyed by market heavyweight Fast Retailing after the retailer reported strong earnings. The Nikkei 225 climbed 822.63 points, or 1.61 percent, from Thursday to end at 51,939.89.

Timothy Pope, a market analyst at China Global Television Network (CGTN), reviewed performances in both markets, underscoring the strong debuts of Hong Kong's AI listings.

"Today's listing was MiniMax AI which focuses on consumer applications for artificial intelligence. Its IPO raked in 620 million U.S. dollars, which the company says is going to fund research and development. And its stock was up a massive 109 percent in its trading debut today. The company is now valued at 11.6 billion dollars, and it was only founded in 2022 -- this is a post-pandemic company. The Minimax debut follows one yesterday as well that was Zhipu AI which rose 13 percent yesterday and another 20 percent today. Zhipu's focus though differs from MiniMax in that it works more on the business and government side when it comes to AI and some market watchers are giving this as a reason why it didn't have the same first day pop -- there's simply less hype in government contracts I guess. Looking at the day more broadly Hang Seng rose a third of one percent. Tech and gold stocks were continuing to dominate. Shares in Hang Seng Bank rose 0.4 percent as well after we saw shareholders vote to accept a buyout bid by the bank's owners who want to take it private. This one isn't a done deal yet though as it still has to go before Hong Kong's High Court, which the bank says is expected to rule on the decision on January 23," the analyst said.

"Over in Tokyo the Nikkei 225 was up strongly as well -- adding 1.6 percent to close just a whisker below 52,000 points. The U.S. dollar was pretty strong against the yen today so that helped a lot of the export-oriented stocks like the automakers. But the Nikkei as we know moves at the whim of its heavyweight stocks and one of the biggest is Fast Retailing, the owners of Uniqlo. Its shares were up 10.7 percent today after some strong quarterly earnings. Profits for the previous quarter up 12 percent. But just for an idea here of what I mean when I say heavyweight, the Nikkei was up 823 points today, and 592 points was purely that Fast Retailing gain," he said.

AI listings boost Hong Kong market as Tokyo stocks rally on earnings: analyst

China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.

The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.

Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.

Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.

The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.

Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.

"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.

China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth