China shares fall on profit-taking in consumer stocks
06/01/2021 04:29
* SSEC -0.2%, CSI300 -0.2%, HSI -0.9%
* China's services sector expands at a slower pace
* China steps up COVID restrictions near Beijing as local
infections rise
SHANGHAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - China shares slid on Wednesday,
as investors booked profits in consumer stocks after the
blue-chip index hit a 13-year high in the morning session, while
a resurgence of coronavirus cases in part of the country also
dimmed sentiment.
** At the midday break, China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300
shed 0.21%, with its consumer staples sector .CSI000912 down
0.59%. The financial sector sub-index .CSI300FS was higher by
0.29%, the real estate index .CSI000952 added 0.3% and the
healthcare sub-index .CSI300HC was up 0.34%.
** The Shanghai Composite index .SSEC was down 0.17% at
3,522.72 points.
** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong .HSCE fell 0.18% to
10,754.81, while the Hang Seng Index .HSI was down 0.87% at
27,410.55.
** The smaller Shenzhen index .SZSC was down 0.9%, the
start-up board ChiNext Composite index .CNT was weaker by
0.98% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index .STAR50 was
down 0.84%.
** Chinese authorities shut sections of highways running through
Hebei province that surrounds Beijing on Wednesday and closed a
key long distance bus terminal in the provincial capital
Shijiazhuang in efforts to stave off another coronavirus wave.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JH019
** The province, which entered a "wartime mode" on Tuesday,
accounted for 20 of the 23 new locally transmitted COVID-19
cases reported in mainland China on Jan. 5, more than the total
of 19 cases in the province in the three previous days.
** China's services sector activity expanded at a slower pace in
December, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday, as
sporadic coronavirus outbreaks tempered the recovery in consumer
confidence and weighed on new business growth. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nZRN000KUB
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
.MIAPJ0000PUS was firmer by 1.41% while Japan's Nikkei index
.N225 was down 0.55%.
** The yuan CNY=CFXS was quoted at 6.4594 per U.S. dollar,
0.07% weaker than the previous close of 6.455.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom)
((zoey.zhang@thomsonreuters.com))