China, Hong Kong stocks drop as higher bond yields hit sentiment

China Feihe

19/03/2021 04:28

* SSEC -1.0%, CSI300 -1.9%, HSI -1.6%
    * HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used -2.9%, Shanghai->HK
daily
quota used 1.2%
    * FTSE China A50 -2.5%+0.0

    BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 19 (Reuters) - Chinese equities
dropped on Friday, after a rise in global bond yields prompted
selling in high-priced consumer and material stocks as risk
sentiment soured.
 
** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  was
down 1.04% at 3,426.91 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index
 .CSI300  was down 1.9%. 
 
** The consumer staples sector  .CSI000912  fell 2.44%, the real
estate index  .CSI000952  dropped 2.48% and the materials
subindex  .CSI300090  declined 2.46%.
 
** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong  .HSCE  fell 1.71% to
11,274.59, while the Hang Seng Index  .HSI  was down 1.55% at 
28,950.83. 
 
** Yields on U.S. 10-year notes spiked to the highest since
early 2020 overnight, dragging down global and Asian equity
markets as richly priced tech stocks declined.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2LG4KX
 
** Market sentiment was dented further after China and the
United States kicked off a rough bilateral conversation in
Alaska on Thursday, with both sides making rare public rebukes https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-alaska/u-s-china-spar-with-rare-harsh-public-rebukes-in-first-in-person-talks-of-biden-presidency-idUSKBN2BA2A7.
  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N2HA01R
 
** The smaller Shenzhen index  .SZSC  was down 1.22%, the
start-up board ChiNext Composite index  .CNT  was weaker by
2.12% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index  .STAR50  was
down 0.15%​.
 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was weaker by 1.42% while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  was down 1.70%.

 (Reporting by Cheng Leng in Beijing, Luoyan Liu and Andrew
Galbraith in Shanghai; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
 ((cheng.leng@thomsonreuters.com; +8610-5669-2129))