China stocks edge down despite upbeat service activity data; HK shares up

Sunny Optical Technology Co

05/06/2024 05:22

SHANGHAI, June 5 (Reuters) - China stocks edged down on
Wednesday, dragged lower by consumer and property shares,
despite an unexpected pickup in service activity in May. Hong
Kong shares were up.
    China's services activity in May accelerated at the quickest
pace in 10 months while staffing levels expanded for the first
time since January, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday,
pointing to sustained recovery in the second quarter.
    Meanwhile, some Chinese AI chip companies are now designing
less powerful processors to retain access to Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co  2330.TW  production in the face
of U.S. sanctions.  
    The CSI semiconductor index  .CSIH30184  rose 1.1%.

** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  was
down 0.36% at 3,079.92 points. 
 
** China's blue-chip CSI300 index  .CSI300  was down 0.22%, with
its financial sector sub-index  .CSI300FS  0.55% lower, the
consumer staples sector  .CSI000912  down 0.95%, the real estate
index  .CSI000952  down 1.77% and the healthcare sub-index
 .CSI300HC  up 0.67%.
 
** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong  .HSCE  rose 0.27% to
6,572.21, while the Hang Seng Index  .HSI  was up 0.33% at 
18,505.56. 
 
** The smaller Shenzhen index  .SZSC  was down 0.33%, the
start-up board ChiNext Composite index  .CNT  was higher by
0.12% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index  .STAR50  was up
0.37%​.
 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 0.72% while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  was down 1.07%.
 
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 7.2457 per U.S. dollar,
0.08% weaker than the previous close of 7.2402. 
 
** The top gainers among H-shares were Sunny Optical Technology
Group Co Ltd  2382.HK , up 3.91%, followed by NetEase Inc
 9999.HK  gaining 2.78% and JD.Com Inc  9618.HK  up by 2.73%.
 
** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China
Unicom Hong Kong Ltd  0762.HK , which has fallen 2.55%,
PetroChina Co Ltd  0857.HK , which has lost 2.28% and CNOOC Ltd
 0883.HK , down by 2.18%.
 

 (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
 ((li.gu@tr.com))