Highlights for the morning: iPhone sales surge, xAI reorganization, China's AI companies on the rise

The iPhone was the only smartphone lineup to show sales growth in China in January. Shares of Chinese AI companies rose sharply after the releases of new models. These and other topics - in our review of key events by the morning of February 12.

The iPhone was the only smartphone lineup to record a 9% increase in sales in China in January, according to Counterpoint Research data cited by Bloomberg. As a result, Apple's share in the country increased to about one-fifth - on par with Huawei. All major Chinese mobile device makers, including Huawei and Xiaomi, posted significant declines amid a 23% market contraction.

This is largely due to a reduction in subsidies that supported local players, as well as a shift in the timing of the Lunar New Year celebrations, Counterpoint Research analysts explained. Meanwhile, the base version of the iPhone 17 now also falls under government subsidies, which has strengthened its appeal.

Apple's sales in China are rebounding after launching new models in September and surged over the holiday period, giving the iPhone its best quarter ever, Bloomberg writes.

Elon Musk announced on social network X about the reorganization at xAI, saying that in order to "accelerate work" the company had to part with some employees, while recruiting continues. Earlier, co-founders Jimmy Ba and Tony Wu, as well as several other key members of the team, announced their departure. The reshuffle is taking place against the backdrop of the deal in which SpaceX acquired xAI in exchange for shares, as well as the preparation of the now merged structure to go public, recalls CNBC.

xAI has faced regulatory scrutiny in Europe, Asia and the US. Authorities are investigating whether the company violated local laws after its chatbot Grok allowed the mass creation and distribution of explicit dipfakes using images of real people, including minors.

Shares of Chinese artificial intelligence developers jumped after announcements of updated AI models and calls from authorities to accelerate AI adoption, CNBC reports. Hong Kong-based Zhipu AI shares rose more than 35% after the release of the GLM-5 open source model with improved coding capabilities, while MiniMax added more than 20% after the release of the M2.5 model. DeepSeek and Ant Group also unveiled updates. Vendor stocks also rose on this backdrop, with UCloud Tech up 20% and SenseTime up 5%.

Premier Li Keqiang called for greater adoption of AI "in various scenarios", supporting the sector. However, the growth of startups contrasted with the decline of large tech companies: shares of Tencent and Alibaba fell, with the Hang Seng Tech Index slipping 1.7%.

The securities of CBRE, Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield fell by 12-14% - for some of them it became the largest collapse since 2020, Bloomberg writes. Investors fear that new AI tools could undermine high-margin, labor-intensive business models in brokerage and advisory services. Analysts call the sell-off part of the "AI scare trade" - a wave of exits from assets potentially vulnerable to automation.

At the same time, a number of analysts consider the reaction excessive, the agency writes. In their opinion, the impact of AI on complex transactions and the rental market will be limited, while large players benefit from scale, data and strong ties with clients.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution expressing opposition to Donald Trump's duties on Canada by a vote of 219 to 211, CNBC reported. Several Republicans supported the document along with Democrats, despite Trump's warnings of "consequences" for those who vote against his policies.

The resolution states that the duties will lead to higher prices for American families and businesses. The document has been sent to the Senate, but this is largely symbolic: even if approved by the upper chamber, Trump is likely to veto it.

- Japan's broad Topix index was up 0.8 percent, while the Nikkei 225 was up 0.3 percent.

- Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.7 percent, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index added 0.1 percent.

- In South Korea, the Kospi index jumped 2.8% and the Kosdaq was up 0.7%.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3 percent.

- Futures on the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%, while Nasdaq Composite exchange-traded contracts were up 0.1%.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor