China’s tech-focused STAR 50 Index surged as much as 8% on Wednesday, its first trading day after the five-day May Day holiday, as investors rushed into semiconductor and artificial intelligence stocks inspired by a global wave of enthusiasm for AI chips. The CSI 300 Index advanced 1.6% to its highest level since early 2022, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.3%.
AMD Earnings Spark Global Chip Rally
The rally was ignited in part by AMD, which reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $10.3 billion — a 38% year-over-year jump — and delivered guidance that exceeded Wall Street expectations, driven by surging AI data center demand. CEO Lisa Su doubled her long-term forecast for central processing unit demand, sending AMD shares up roughly 19% in premarket trading on Wednesday.
The earnings beat rippled across global chip stocks. In China, Hygon Information Technology, a maker of high-end CPUs and AI co-processors listed on the STAR Market, surged on the back of its own strong first-quarter results, which showed revenue up 68% year-over-year to RMB 4.034 billion. Montage Technology, a memory interface chip designer, also saw gains in Hong Kong trading, continuing a meteoric rise since its February debut, when shares jumped 64% on their first day after an oversubscribed $902 million IPO.
AI Demand Reshapes China’s Semiconductor Landscape
The broader rally reflects deepening investor conviction that China’s domestic chip sector is a primary beneficiary of global AI infrastructure spending. Profits at companies listed on Shanghai’s STAR Market grew 20% year-over-year in 2025, far outpacing the broader market, according to Reuters. U.S. export restrictions have acted as “rocket fuel” for domestic chip demand, according to analysts, accelerating investment in local alternatives for AI data centers and cloud computing.
In South Korea, SK Hynix had rallied 12.5% to a record high on Monday after major U.S. tech firms signaled increased spending on AI infrastructure, outpacing Samsung Electronics, which gained 5.4% but faces an impending labor dispute.
Holiday Optimism Fuels Broader Gains
“If you look at global events during the holiday, what people had feared did not happen,” said Deng Lijun, a strategist at Huajin Securities, referring to concerns about renewed U.S. strikes on Iran. Instead, markets were greeted by signs of domestic economic resilience, with China’s services activity expanding at a faster pace in April. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.8% amid a regional relief rally as hopes grew for a U.S.-Iran deal to end the two-month Middle East conflict.
