HK stocks gain as China AI startup blossoms

Hong Kong stocks inched up 0.66 percent or 131 points to close at 20,197 points on Monday, with a turnover of HK$147.3 billion.
Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek overtook rival ChatGPT to become the top-rated free app available on Apple's App Store in the United States, helping drive up AI-related stocks, with Baidu's (9888) share price up nearly 4 percent to HK$84.75 apiece.
The best gainer among blue chips was Hang Lung Properties (0101), with its price jumping by 4.37 percent to HK$6.21 per share.
The Hang Seng Tech Index edged up 0.64 percent to 4,687 points.
In the mainland, the CSI 300 Index dropped by 0.41 percent to 3,817 points.
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange Component Index slipepd by 1.33 percent to 10,156 points and the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index dropped by 0.06 percent to 3,250 points.
JUNE CHEN