China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index rose 1.7% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.2% to 3,931 points, up above the 3,900 mark for the first time since August 2015. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was roughly flat.

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

Onshore non-ferrous metal shares surged 7%.

The tech-focused STAR50 index gained more than 5% amid renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.

China’s chipmakers rose as US lawmakers push for broader bans on chipmaking equipment sales to China. The CSI All shares semiconductor shares were up 5.6%.

Despite a reported 11.5% year-on-year increase in holiday travel, consumer staple and liquor shares fell nearly 1% and 2%, respectively.

UBS analysts said in a note that holiday spending appeared underwhelming, pointing to limited data disclosures that selectively emphasised pockets of growth, while underlying weakness 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, as key shareholder HSBC proposes to take the bank private. HSBC shares listed in Hong Kong fell 6.2%.

The CSI Rare Earth Index jumped nearly 5%, after China tightened its rare earth export controls on Thursday, expanding restrictions on processing technology and unauthorised overseas cooperation.

Meanwhile, investors are awaiting signals from the Communist Party’s leadership meeting on Oct 20-23, and a possible Xi-Trump meeting at the APEC summit later this month.