Trade worries drag on China shares; Hong Kong down 0.5%

Want Want China Holdings

18/07/2019 05:49

* SSEC -0.7%, CSI300 -0.6%, HSI -0.5%
    * Rare earth firms outperform as trade worries rise
    * Yuan softens to 6.877 per dollar

    SHANGHAI, July 18 (Reuters) - Chinese shares fell on
Thursday as investors worried about the outlook for economic
growth, after weak corporate earnings results out of the United
States underscored the negative impact of the trade standoff
between China and the United States.
    
** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  was
down 0.65% at 2,912.65.
 
** China's blue-chip CSI300 index  .CSI300  was down 0.6%, with
its financial sector sub-index  .CSI300FS  lower by 0.14%, the
consumer staples sector  .CSI000912  down 0.67%, the real estate
index  .CSI000952  down 0.92% and the healthcare sub-index
 .CSI300HC  down 0.94%.
 
** Rare earth firms, which have been sensitive to trade
tensions, bucked the broader market trend, with an index
tracking the sector  .CSI930598  adding 0.31%. JL-MAG Rare Earth
Co  300748.SZ , which hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in
May, added 3.7%. 
 
** Gold firms also saw gains, with Zijin Mining  601899.SS 
adding 0.85%. 
 
** "Gold is seeing inflows as investors became more conservative
while rare earth are seeing in flows likely due to some
indications of slowdown in trade talks," Gerry Alfonso, director
at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities Co, said in an emailed comment.  
 
 
** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong  .HSCE  fell 0.42% at
10,802.6, while the Hang Seng Index  .HSI  was down 0.49% at
28,453.57. 
 
** The smaller Shenzhen index  .SZSC  was down 1.23% and the
start-up board ChiNext Composite index  .CNT  was weaker by
1.28%.
 
** CSX Corp  CSX.O  on Tuesday posted quarterly profit that
missed Wall Street's target and cut its full-year revenue
forecast after weakness in its trade-related intermodal business
weighed on results. The announcement helped drag all three major
U.S. indexes lower.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N24H1M5 .N 
 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was weaker by 0.22% while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  was down 1.84%.
 
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 6.877 per U.S. dollar,
0.05% weaker than the previous close of 6.8733. 
 
** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite
index were Taiyuan Chemical Industry Co Ltd  600281.SS , up 10%,
followed by Sichuan Western Resources Holding Co Ltd
 600139.SS , gaining 10% and China Satellite Communications Co
Ltd  601698.SS , up by 8.18%.
 
** The largest percentage losers in the Shanghai index were
Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co Ltd  600458.SS , down
7.72%, followed by Poten Environment Group Co Ltd  603603.SS ,
losing 7.23% and Shenzhen Gongjin Electronics Co Ltd
 603118.SS , down by 6.21%.
 
** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 17.55%,
while China's H-share index is up 7.1%. Shanghai stocks have
declined 1.58% this month. 
 
** The top gainers among H-shares were China Resources Beer
Holdings Co Ltd  0291.HK , up 2.2%, followed by China Pacific
Insurance Group Co Ltd  2601.HK , gaining 2.18% and PICC
Property and Casualty Co Ltd  2328.HK , up by 1.64%.
 
** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were CNOOC
Ltd  0883.HK , which has fallen 2.58%, Shenzhou International
Group Holdings Ltd  2313.HK , which has lost 2.2% and China
National Building Material Co Ltd  3323.HK , down by 2.1%.
 
** In Hong Kong, the sub-index of the Hang Seng index tracking
energy shares  .HSCIE  dipped 1.4% while the IT sector  .HSCIIT 
fell 1.1%. The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Want Want China
Holdings Ltd  0151.HK , up 1.77%, while the biggest loser was
CNOOC Ltd  0883.HK , which was down 2.58%.

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China stock market graphics suite     http://reut.rs/1NfkoGl
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 (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
 ((Andrew.Galbraith@tr.com; +86 21 2083 0079; Reuters Messaging:
andrew.galbraith.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/apgalbraith))