Hong Kong and mainland China stocks rose in the morning session, boosted by artificial intelligence shares as Chinese AI startup DeepSeek reportedly became the fastest-growing company in terms of daily active users globally.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index recorded 20,655 points by midday, up 0.29 percent or 58 points, with a turnover of HK$79.7 billion.

The Hang Seng Tech Index was up by 0.95 percent to 4,977 points.

DeepSeek, just 20 days after its launch, has garnered 20 million DAU – amounting to more than 41 percent of rival ChatGPT's total user numbers, according to mainland media Cailianpress.