Refile: China shares fall on jitters over COVID, Ukraine

Wharf Real Estate Investment

18/03/2022 05:00

(Refiles to remove extraneous comma in headline)
    * SSEC -0.2%, CSI300 -0.9%, HSI -2.4%
    * Tech shares slump after a two-day rally
    * China's new daily local COVID cases rebound 

    SHANGHAI, March 18 (Reuters) - China shares retreated on
Friday after rising for two straight days as investors kept a
wary eye on the country's response to contain the COVID-19
outbreak and the latest developments around Ukraine.  
   
** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  was
down 0.22% at 3,208.00 points and China's blue-chip CSI300 index
 .CSI300  was down 0.89%.

** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong  .HSCE  fell 3.26% to
7,166.2, while the Hang Seng Index  .HSI  was down 2.38% at
20,988.53.  
    
** "We are not in a rush to turn outright bullish at the index
level," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note on Thursday. A
clearer exit strategy from the zero-COVID policy, improvements
in geopolitical tensions, and revival of the offshore IPO market
are among the factors needed for a more sustainable rally, they
added.         
    
** Already vulnerable and weak after a prolonged regulatory
crackdown, China's stock markets were pressured further over the
past couple of weeks by worries of a spurt in COVID-19 cases and
fears that its close ties with Russia will draw Western ire or
sanctions.
    
** The Hang Seng technology index  .HSTECH  has borne the brunt
of the bearishness on China, with a decline of nearly 39% this
year through Tuesday, before Vice Premier Liu He's speech
promising stability put a floor under markets. It had surged
nearly 30% in previous two sessions but slumped 5.59% on Friday
as some investors decided to lock in profits.
    
** Index heavyweights Alibaba Group  9988.HK , Tencent Holdings
 0700.HK  and Meituan  3690.HK  lost between 4.4% and 8.3%,
while video-platform provider Bilibili Inc  9626.HK  tumbled
14.3%.
    
** The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index  .HSMPI  retreated
4.36% following a two-day rally as well, with investors eyeing
more supportive measures to be implemented and a liquidity
crunch in the sector to be eased.
    
** Coal miners gained with the sub-sector index  .CSI000820 
rose 2.73%, tracking rallies in the futures market as concerns
on energy shortages continued along with the Ukraine-Russian
crisis.                   
    
** China reported 2,388 new local COVID-19 cases with confirmed
symptoms on March 17, official data showed on Friday, almost
double the count a day earlier.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2VL02S  

 (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
 ((zoey.zhang@thomsonreuters.com))