Chinese Shares Open Higher as Market Resumes Trading Post-Golden Week Holiday

Chinese shares resumed trading on Thursday, with an optimistic bounce following the eight-day "super Golden Week" holiday.

The Shanghai Composite Index, the main gauge of Chinese stocks, ticked up 0.4%, or 15.53 points, to open at 3,898.31. The Shenzhen Component Index opened 0.5% higher, adding 71.84 points, at 13,445.90.

While muted, investor sentiment was buoyed by a modest increase in consumption and transportation during the week-long holiday. Data from the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday showed that China's key retail and catering enterprises reported a 2.7% year-on-year growth in sales during the period.

Domestic travel also improved, with passenger traffic of 78 pedestrian streets and business districts tracked by the ministry growing 8.8% from last year, while business revenues rose 6%.

Holiday box office surpassed 1.79 billion yuan as of 3 pm on Wednesday, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The extended holiday period came as this year's National Day holiday coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Adding to the upbeat sentiment was a global rally in artificial intelligence stocks. Mainland investors tracked gains on Wall Street, where AMD's stock surged 11% Wednesday following a deal with ChatGPT developer OpenAI.

At home, Chinese semiconductor stocks led gains in the tech sector, with Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (SHA:688012) or AMEC jumping 4% and Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SHA:688981, HKG:0981) or SMIC surging nearly 5% in Shanghai.

Hygon Information Technology (SHA:688041) jumped 6.5%, VeriSilicon Microelectronics Shanghai (SHA:688521) surged nearly 7%, while Cambricon Technologies (SHA:688256) edged up 2.7%.