On July 7th, A-share markets experienced a volatile decline, with the three major indices opening lower. The Shanghai Composite Index approached the 4,000-point level, while the ChiNext Index briefly turned positive before falling back into negative territory. The semiconductor industry chain rebounded, with significant gains in areas like semiconductor wafers, ASIC chips, and the broader semiconductor sector. Cultivated diamonds and online gaming concept stocks were also active. In contrast, sectors such as coal, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals entered a period of adjustment.
Hong Kong markets opened lower but recovered, with both the Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng Tech Index rising, the latter gaining over 2%. Most technology and internet stocks moved higher, with MEITUAN-W (03690) up more than 6% and TENCENT (00700) rising over 4%. Memory chip stocks retreated, with Gigadevice Semiconductor Inc. falling nearly 6%. In the bond market, treasury futures mostly declined. Commodity futures showed a mixed picture, with metals like Shanghai silver under pressure. Key market movements were as follows:
A-Shares: At the time of writing, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.89%, the Shenzhen Component Index down 0.70%, and the ChiNext Index down 0.60%.
Hong Kong Shares: At the time of writing, the Hang Seng Index was up 0.46%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index was up 1.69%.
Bond Market: Treasury futures were mostly lower. The 30-year main contract was up 0.08%, the 10-year main contract was flat, the 5-year main contract was down 0.01%, and the 2-year main contract was down 0.01%.
Commodities: Domestic commodity futures were mixed. Stainless steel, eggs, and soybean meal rose over 1%, while ferrosilicon, Shanghai nickel, Shanghai aluminum, iron ore, industrial silicon, coke, rubber, hot-rolled coil, Shanghai tin, rebar, and crude oil also moved higher. Polysilicon, Shanghai copper, coking coal, the containerized freight index, palladium, alumina, rapeseed, fuel oil, lithium carbonate, pulp, and Shanghai gold declined. Caustic soda, asphalt, glass, and silver fell more than 1%.
Key Intraday Developments
10:34: The loss on the Shanghai Composite Index widened to 1%, while the ChiNext Index fell 0.9%. Petrochemicals, shipping, pharmaceuticals, and precious metals were among the worst-performing sectors.
10:15: The Hang Seng Tech Index rose over 2% intraday, with MEITUAN-W (03690) up more than 7% and TENCENT (00700) up more than 5%.
09:59: The semiconductor wafer concept continued to strengthen. GRINM Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd. hit the 20% daily limit up, Shanghai Hejing Silicon Co., Ltd. rose nearly 10%, with National Silicon Industry Group Co., Ltd., TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Lion Microelectronics Co., Ltd., and Zhongjing Technology Co., Ltd. following higher.
Analysts noted that in mid-May, major global wafer producers Shin-Etsu Chemical, SUMCO, and GlobalWafers initiated a second round of price increases for the year. The price of standard 12-inch wafers rose 5% to 8%, while specialized high-end wafers for AI/HPC applications saw increases of 18% to 22%, with cumulative price hikes for the year exceeding 15%.
09:51: The cultivated diamond concept saw a volatile uptick. HuiFeng Diamond Co., Ltd rose over 10%, Zhejiang Yeguang Technology Co., Ltd surged more than 25%, with Huanghe Whirlwind, Beijing Worldia Diamond Tools Co., Ltd., Sifangda, and Power Diamond Co., Ltd. following the upward trend.
Research suggests that the explosion in AI computing demand, coupled with catalysts from NVIDIA's Rubin architecture, could accelerate the adoption period for diamond materials. With their ultra-high thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion properties, diamond materials are seen as a promising technical path for next-generation advanced cooling solutions in high-end AI chips.
09:46: The computing power chip concept saw a volatile rise in early trading. MetaX Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. gained over 10%, with Wantong Development, VeriSilicon Microelectronics, Hygon Information Technology Co., Ltd., Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited, Moore Threads Intelligent Technology, and Loongson Technology Corporation Ltd. following higher.
Market news indicated that Intel has adjusted prices for some of its CPUs. The price increases primarily affect certain consumer-grade Core Ultra processors and Xeon server processors. High-end Xeon server products saw overall price increases ranging from 7% to 12%.
09:42: The PCB (printed circuit board) concept rebounded in early trading. Guanghua Technology, Tianhai Electronic, Wier High-Tech, and Nuode New Material Co., Ltd. hit the daily limit up, with Jin'an Guojie, Shandong Fiberglass, Dingsheng Technology, and Shengquan Group following the gains.
Reports noted that on July 6th, leading copper-clad laminate manufacturer Kingboard Laminates Holdings Ltd. issued another price increase notice. Due to persistently strong market demand leading to tightening supply and significant price increases for core raw materials like glass cloth and copper, the company raised prices for all FR-4 and PP products by 15%, CEM-1/22F products by 10%, and increased copper foil processing fees.
09:40: The device-side AI concept strengthened in early trading. Rockchip Electronics Co., Ltd. hit the daily limit up, with Transsion Holdings, Allwinner Technology, Pinming Technology, Espressif Systems, VeriSilicon Microelectronics, and BES Technology Co., Ltd. following the upward movement.
Broadcom announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Apple, extending the contract for custom ASIC chips to 2031. The company will develop and supply custom AI accelerator chips for multiple generations of iPhone, Mac, and Vision Pro products, strengthening its layout in device-side AI computing power.
09:35: The Hang Seng Tech Index rose over 1% intraday, with MEITUAN-W (03690) up more than 4%, and TENCENT (00700), Xiaomi, Lenovo, and Li Auto all gaining over 3%.
09:28: The precious metals concept opened collectively lower. Zhaojin Mining Industry Co., Ltd. briefly hit the daily limit down, with Xiaocheng Technology, Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining Co., Ltd., Xingye Silver & Tin, and Hunan Silver Co., Ltd. all opening lower. Spot silver fell below $61 per ounce, down 1.73% intraday. Spot gold fell below $4140 per ounce, down 0.61% intraday.
09:26: The Shanghai Composite Index opened down 0.54%, and the ChiNext Index opened down 0.44%. Semiconductor and chip stocks led the decline, with memory and advanced packaging sectors among the biggest losers. Building materials and precious metals sectors were weak, while the construction machinery sector showed strength.
09:21: The Hang Seng Index opened down 0.2%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index opened down 0.37%. Resource stocks led the decline, and pharmaceutical stocks pulled back.
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