HONG KONG, Jan 26, 2026, 05:59 HKT — Premarket
- SMIC last closed at HK$78.10, up 0.32% on Friday.
- Traders are setting positions ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve decision and China’s January factory survey.
- Mainland Stock Connect holdings in SMIC stood at 2.39 billion shares as of Jan. 24, about 29.85% of its Hong Kong-listed shares.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) shares in Hong Kong start the week on the back foot of a modest gain, after the stock ended Friday up 0.32% at HK$78.10. 1
Why it matters now: the stock has become a proxy for how much risk investors want to carry into a heavy macro week, with the U.S. Federal Reserve due to meet Jan. 27-28 and Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to speak after the decision on Jan. 28. 2
China’s own data calendar is close behind. The National Bureau of Statistics is due to publish its official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) on Jan. 31 — a diffusion index where readings above 50 signal expansion and below 50 contraction. 3
SMIC’s move on Friday broadly tracked the market’s tech tone. The Hang Seng Tech index rose 0.62% and the Hang Seng Index added 0.45%. 4
The stock ranged between HK$76.85 and HK$78.55 on the day, with volume at 36.49 million shares, according to Investing.com data. 5
Mainland investors held 2.39 billion SMIC shares through Stock Connect — the trading link that lets mainland funds buy eligible Hong Kong stocks — as of Jan. 24, equal to about 29.85% of SMIC’s Hong Kong-listed shares, HKEX data showed. 6
SMIC is China’s biggest contract chipmaker, a “foundry” that makes chips to order for customers rather than selling its own branded semiconductors. 7
In late December, the company unveiled plans to buy the remaining 49% stake in its SMIC Northern unit for 40.6 billion yuan ($5.79 billion), in a deal that would give it full control of the business. 8
But the stock still swings with geopolitics as much as with earnings. Any fresh tightening of U.S. export restrictions tied to SMIC could weigh on sentiment, especially around equipment needed to push to more advanced chipmaking. 9
For the week ahead, traders will watch the Fed decision on Wednesday, Jan. 28, and the official China manufacturing PMI release on Saturday, Jan. 31, for the next clear push on rates, risk appetite and the China tech trade. 10
