China shares set for best week in seven months on financials boost, Mideast truce
SHANGHAI: China stocks were little changed on Friday but were set to notch their biggest weekly gain in more than seven months, led by financial shares, as a ceasefire between Israel and Iran lifted investor sentiment.
China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index was flat by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.1%.
Chinese brokerage stocks rallied sharply this week, buoyed by easing global geopolitical tensions and improved investor risk appetite, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note.
Over a 6- to 12-month horizon, increased portfolio allocation to China appears likely, supported by improving market fundamentals and growing global investor demand for diversification, they said.
Tianfeng Securities jumped 10% on Friday.
The CSI 300 Index has risen 2.6% this week, on track for its strongest weekly gain since November 2024, while the Hang Seng Index advanced 3.3%, heading for its best week since March.
Onshore financial shares climbed nearly 4% this week.
China stocks retreat 7-month high following Mideast calm
China's industrial profits swung back into sharp decline in May from a year earlier, as factory activity slowed in the face of broader economic stress.
The United States has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the U.S., a White House official said on Thursday, amid efforts to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies.
Shares of Xiaomi surged to a record high on Friday, after the company launched a new electric car model with a strong beat on pre-orders.
But this has added pressure on other auto makers, with Li Auto and Xpeng down 1.4% and 2.7%, respectively.
Hong Kong's HSCI Materials Index and mainland's Non-Ferrous Metals Index rose 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively, as non-ferrous metal prices such as copper broadly rallied.
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