Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages continue to sit mixed at midday. 

Baidu (BIDU 147.65, +16.99, +13.01%) is surging after the company announced a proposed spin-off and separate listing of its AI chip subsidiary, Kunlunxin, on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The stock is rallying as investors cheer the move to unlock the hidden value of BIDU's high-growth hardware arm, looking past broader concerns about the legacy search business.

Kunlunxin specializes in designing high-performance AI chips for data centers and cloud computing, serving as a critical hardware foundation for BIDU's ERNIE large language models. While it originally operated as an internal unit, Kunlunxin has successfully expanded to external customers, recently securing a major order from China Mobile.

Baidu's gain highlights a solid start to the year for chipmakers both domestically and abroad. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (+3.2%) is at a three-week high, with solid performances from names such as Micron (MU 306.51, +21.10, +7.39%) and Intel (INTC 39.29, +2.39, +6.49%).