SHANGHAI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks edged lower on Tuesday, ending a three-day rally, as investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and chip stocks cooled, while traders weighed the latest tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 edged down 0.4% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC lost 0.2%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng .HSI was down 0.6%.
** Artificial intelligence shares in China .CSI930713 edged up just 0.4%, following a 12% surge since the market reopened after the Chinese New Year holidays, driven by the momentum from startup DeepSeek.
** Hong Kong-listed tech majors .HSTECH were set to snap three consecutive sessions of gains with a 1.6% drop.
** Semiconductor shares .CSIH30184 fell nearly 1% after Trump lifted tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 25% on Monday.
** Trump said that he would follow Monday's actions with announcements on reciprocal tariffs against all countries imposing duties on U.S. goods over the next two days. He also mentioned considering tariffs on cars, semiconductor chips, and pharmaceuticals.
** Shares in Chinese automakers Xpeng 9868.HK and Geely Auto 0175.HK both tumbled more than 7% on Tuesday on worries that they will struggle to compete against BYD's 1211.HK move to offer smart driving features across almost all of its line-up for free. BYD shares 002594.SZ edged 0.2% higher.
** After the DeepSeek surprise during the Chinese New Year holidays, intelligence initiatives will likely remain a key theme among auto stocks, UBS analyst Paul Gong said.
** In the longer term, Gong sees Chinese carmakers taking the lead globally on intelligence innovation, democratising these technologies in mass-market cars.
** Chinese battery giant CATL 300750.SZ plans to file a Hong Kong listing application this week to raise at least $5 billion, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
** Meanwhile, Trump said he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping since taking office on January 20, but did not offer details on the topics of their conversation.
** There has been little sign of progress toward a trade arrangement between Beijing and Washington, but expectations for a breakthrough remain high.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((li.gu@tr.com))
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