China stocks surge at their highest levels in over 10 years

China stocks closed at their highest levels in more than 10 years on Thursday, buoyed by strong gains in semiconductor, gold, and Al-related shares as investors returned from the Golden Week holiday and played catch-up with global markets.

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China's blue-chip CSI300 Index ended 1.5 per cent higher, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.3 per cent to 3,933 points, above the 3,900 mark for the first time since August 2015. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng edged down.

Shares of Chinese gold miners jumped, tracking a surge in bullion prices that hit a record high above $4,000 per ounce on Wednesday.

Onshore nonferrous metal shares surged 8.28.

The tech-focused STAR50 index gained nearly 3% amid renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.

China's chipmakers rose as US lawmakers pushed for broader bans on chipmaking equipment sales to China. The CSI All Shares Semiconductor Index was up 2.7%.

Despite a reported 11.5% year-on-year increase in holiday trips, average spending slightly dropped.

Tourism shares fell 1.8%.

UBS analysts said in a note that the underlying weakness of holiday spending was evident in declining movie box office revenues and liquor shipments.

Shares of Hang Seng Bank soared as much as 41.2% to HK$168, their highest level since February 2022, after key shareholder HSBC proposed to take the bank private. HSBC shares listed in Hong Kong fell 6%.