China stocks snap 7-day rally as new coronavirus cases soar

Hengan International

13/02/2020 05:00

* SSEC -0.5%, CSI300 -0.5%, HSI -0.1%, HSCE -0.2%
    * Epicentre's new cases break record after method tweak
    * China says will cushion epidemic's economic impact

    SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Shares in China fell
on Thursday, recoiling after a week-long streak of gains, after
new cases of the coronavirus soared and death toll leapt at the
epicentre of the outbreak.
     
** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  was
down 0.5% at 2,911.35 points. The blue-chip CSI300 index
 .CSI300  also fell 0.5%.

** CSI300's financial sector sub-index  .CSI300FS  fell 0.4%,
the consumer staples sector  .CSI000912  was down 0.5%, the real
estate index  .CSI000952  rose 2.7% and the healthcare sub-index
 .CSI300HC  dropped 1.4%.
 
** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong  .HSCE  fell 0.2%, while
the Hang Seng Index  .HSI  edged down 0.1% to 27,784.07. 
 
** The smaller Shenzhen index  .SZSC  fell 0.7% and the start-up
board ChiNext Composite index  .CNT  was weaker by nearly 1%.
 
** The Hubei province, the epicentre of the virus, reported a
record rise in the daily death toll on Thursday under a new
method for diagnosing cases, as health experts warned the
epidemic could get worse before it gets better.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2AB6U4

** The rise in the death toll, at 242, more than doubled the
prior provincial daily record of 103 set on Monday, while the
number of new cases soared by 14,840 - also a daily record - to
a total of 48,206 cases.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AD03G
    
** The head of the Communist Party in Hubei has been relieved of
duty, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N29N029
    
** China's ruling Communist Party said on Monday it would take
steps to halt the spread of the coronavirus and counter the
epidemic's economic impact, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AC32E 

** Beijing is expected to further step up counter-cyclical
measures as the impact of the epidemic on China's economy
gradually emerges, Guosheng Securities said after the meeting.
    
** Chinese policymakers have already implemented a series of
measures to support an economy jolted by the outbreak.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AA2CR
    
** Capital Economics said in a note on Wednesday it expects
first-quarter economic growth in China to drop four percentage
points to around 2% from a year earlier, and forecasts the
economy will contract 2.5% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, before
a likely bounce in spring if the outbreak abates.
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was flat, while Japan's Nikkei index  .N225  was
down 0.1%.
 
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was 0.12% weaker at 6.9804 per U.S.
dollar. 
** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 4.6%,
while the CSI300 index is down 3.2%.
    

 (Reporting by Luoyan Liu and Noah Sin; Editing by Aditya Soni)
 ((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))