China stocks rise as semiconductors shine on policy support bets

SHANGHAI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - China's bluechip stock index posted its biggest jump in more than five weeks on Friday, led by information technology companies, as a U.S. legislation to compete with Chinese chipmakers stoked expectations of more domestic support.

** The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 1.4% to end at 4,156.91, its biggest jump since June 30, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.2% to 3,227.03, its best performance since July 18.

** The Hang Seng index rose 0.2% to 20,204.40, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.4% to 6,905.17.

** For the week, the CSI300 index edged down 0.3%, while the Hang Seng Index was up 0.2%.

** China's CSI Information Technology index jumped 4.3%. The semiconductor sub-index soared nearly 7% and more than 14% for the week, its best weekly performance in two years.

** The U.S. Senate last week passed sweeping legislation to subsidise the domestic semiconductor industry, hoping to boost companies as they compete with China.

** "The Act's introduction will largely intensify chip compeptition around the globe and is expected to stimulate the development of China's semiconductor industry," Guorong Securities said in a note.

** U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the Taiwanese parliament on Wednesday the U.S. chip bill would offer a good opportunity for U.S.-Taiwan cooperation in the chip industry, during her visit to the self-ruled island that China claims as its own.

** Shares in banks, property developers and consumer staples each went up around 1%.

** China deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles near Taiwan on Thursday in its biggest drills in the Taiwan Strait, a day after Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

** Geopolitical tensions aside, sentiment in Chinese A-shares remained low due to weak economic fundamentals, COVID-19 outbreaks and real estate sector woes.

** Tech companies listed in Hong Kong edged up 0.8%, with Alibaba down 2.2% as the e-commerce giant reported flat quarterly revenue growth for the first time. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Rashmi Aich)