SMIC stock gains as Chinese chip shares rally in Asia

SMIC shares rose 3.3 percent in Hong Kong on Thursday as Chinese semiconductor stocks rallied while chip markets elsewhere in Asia weakened. Morningstar, in a Dow Jones report, said investors were assessing the potential impact of tighter data-center rules.

Chinese Chips Defy Regional Weakness

The move set SMIC apart from several major Asian chip names. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 4.8 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively, while Tokyo Electron declined 7.6 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing gained 0.4 percent.

Chinese semiconductor stocks moved higher across the sector. Moore Threads gained 5.65 percent and Shanghai Biren Technology rose 11 percent, according to the report. The gains came after an overnight selloff in US semiconductor stocks and broader weakness in Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Regulation Adds Market Risk

Market participants are considering whether tighter regulation could slow data-center construction in the United States. The concern followed the election of Gina Hinojosa as Texas governor, given the state’s large pipeline of planned projects, the report said.

Tiger Brokers chief market strategist James Ooi said investors may be pricing in slower construction or fewer projects. That creates a risk for semiconductor companies exposed to data-center investment, although the potential effect on SMIC depends on customer demand, capacity utilization and the pace of Chinese technology investment.

Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young took a more measured view, saying data-center construction was unlikely to face major delays. The competing assessments leave artificial intelligence infrastructure spending and policy implementation as key variables for semiconductor investors.

Asian semiconductor markets remained mixed as investors reassessed data-center growth and regulation. Current market reports provide the broader market context.

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