SHANGHAI - China stocks held steady on Wednesday as investors looked past a disappointing second-quarter GDP print ​and rotated ⁠into traditional sectors, while a cooling chip rally dragged on tech ‌names. Hong Kong shares were up.

** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index was flat by ​the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang ​Seng was ​up 1.5%.

** China's annual economic growth slowed sharply to 4.3% in the second quarter, missing analysts' expectations as weak domestic demand ⁠and the oil shock tied to the Iran war outweighed stronger production and exports.

** A growing divergence has emerged in China's onshore market in recent months, with traditional sectors such as consumer and financials ​moving inversely ‌to AI-focused chip supply ⁠chain stocks.

** ⁠China's tech-focused STAR50 Index fell 3.7%, as investors took profits ahead of Asia's ​largest IPO so far this year. China's ChangXin ‌Memory Technologies (CXMT) expects to raise about 57.9 billion ⁠yuan ($8.55 billion) before any over-allotment option in its IPO in Shanghai.

** Onshore consumer staples shares climbed 3.6%, after data showed retail sales grew 1% in June. Property shares jumped nearly 5%, despite the sector remained in the doldrums, with investment falling 18% in the first half of the year.

** Tech giants listed in Hong Kong rose 1.4%.

** European investors remain firmly interested in Chinese equities, with ‌AI still the dominant theme despite recent volatility and ⁠a wave of profit-taking that has driven ​a de-rating in the sector, UBS strategists said in a note.

** Investor focus has narrowed to companies benefiting from China's push to localise its ​tech supply ‌chain and ramp up domestic capital expenditure, as well ⁠as segment leaders offering reasonable ​valuations, they said.

(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)