By the midday break, the Shanghai Composite Index was up about 0.1% at 3,878.98, after spending much of the morning under pressure.

The modest advance put the benchmark index on track for its first daily gain after three consecutive declines, but it remained 0.3% lower for the week amid a lack of fresh catalysts ahead of a key policy meeting.

The blue-chip CSI 300 Index edged 0.1% higher and has gained 0.6% so far this week.

The spotlight on Friday was on Moore Threads Technology Co, often called “China’s Nvidia”, which surged roughly fivefold in its trading debut, reflecting expectations that the US-sanctioned firm will gain from Beijing’s push to strengthen domestic chip production.

Its explosive debut followed news that a bipartisan group of US senators introduced a bill on Thursday aiming to prevent the Trump administration from easing restrictions on China’s access to advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD for the next 2.5 years.

China’s tech breakthroughs, as well as “national pride” amid US-China geopolitical tensions, are set to continue being a main pillar for the slow bull market for the next 6-12 months, according to Patrick Pan, China equity strategist at Daiwa Capital Markets in Hong Kong.

“From a longer-term perspective, we believe the recent pullback of China equities should have freed up more upside for the next year,” he said in a note.

The property sub-index extended its slide, with the CSI 300 Real Estate Index down more than 2%.

China’s home prices are forecast to decline 3.7% this year, and likely to fall through 2026 before stabilising in 2027, according to the latest Reuters survey.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 0.2%, but was still on track to post a weekly gain. The tech index also lost 0.2%.