Chinese Stocks End Week Flat, Attention Turns to Unitree Debut

China's stock markets ended the week relatively flat as investors pored over the latest corporate financial results. Tech-focused boards turned volatile before next week's much-vaunted Chinese mainland debut of leading humanoid robot maker Unitree.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.3 percent in the past five trading days, and the Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.3 percent. The tech-heavy ChiNext index in Shenzhen lost 1.5 percent, and the tech-focused STAR Market in Shanghai lost 1.2 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 2.15 percent this week following a 1.1 percent fall on Friday.

"Investors seemed to be nervous before the kickoff of Unitree's trading, while external markets such as South Korea also turned quite difficult to judge," said Jiang Yifan, an analyst with Shenwan Hongyuan Securities.

The Shanghai initial public offering by Unitree, which will be the first Chinese mainland listing of a humanoid robot maker, stirred a subscription frenzy at the retail level this week. Its US$900-million Shanghai IPO was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed, with the rate of retail investors winning a 500 allotment of shares at about 0.018 percent. That suggests a strong demand when trading is expected to start in the coming week. The debut date has yet to be announced. The shares were priced at 150.80 yuan (US$22.36), for a price-to-earning radio as high as 219 times. It's unclear if the recent US ban on imports of advanced robots may affect trading. The US has been a major market for Unitree.

Unitree's recent IPO predecessor Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT), the world's fourth-largest maker of dynamic random-access memory and the largest listed chipmaker in China, has performed strongly since the July 17 debut of its US$8.6 billion share sale. CXMT shares closed 4.4 percent higher on Friday.

The interim earnings season is shifting into high gear. By Friday, nearly 400 Chinese mainland companies had reported, with more than 70 percent presenting profit and revenue growth.

Shares in Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), the Chinese mainland's largest chip foundry, gained 2.6 percent on Friday after the company reported second-quarter net profit jumped 400 percent to US$733 million, thanks to increased sales and improved margins. Revenue rose 36 percent to a record US$3 billion, the highest quarterly revenue in SMIC's history.

In Hong Kong, Chinese multinational conglomerate Tencent reported 11 percent growth in second-quarter revenue on strong domestic gaming sales and AI-driven advertising, but profit fell short of analysts' estimates as the tech giant ramped up capital spending on AI. It shares retreated 0.23 percent on Friday.

Shares in Beijing-based Lenovo Group, the world's largest maker of computers, initially surged after the company reported record quarterly revenue but closed down 3.7 percent in Hong Kong as investors questioned whether the company can sustain such hot growth.

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com slumped 10 percent in Hong Kong on Friday after the company posted its first-quarterly revenue decline in more than a decade on weaker sales of electronics.

In the US, shares in Chinese copper foil maker Londian Wason New Energy Tech debuted on the New York Stock Exchange with an opening surge of 18 percent above their offer price but closed up 0.85 percent on Thursday after a US$94.3 million IPO. The company's listing is one of the few Chinese firms to go public in the US in recent years. Copper foil is a key component used in lithium-ion battery that power electric vehicles and AI infrastructure.

Elsewhere in Asia this week, South Korea's Kospi surged 11.5 percent, rebounding from a bear to a bull market in just 10 days. The dramatic reversal was led by semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Japan's Nikkei jumped 4.7 percent for the week.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 advanced 0.4 percent for the week after sliding on Friday after a day-earlier record close. The Nasdaq eked out its third weekly gain in a row, ending 0.1 percent higher.