EV makers pull China shares lower; Hong Kong falls to 2-year low

Xinyi Glass Holdings

02/03/2022 08:33

* SSEC -0.1%, CSI300 -0.9%, HSI -1.8%
    * Energy firms gain as oil prices rise above $110
    * Biden bans Russian flights using American airspace 

 (Updates with Hong Kong close)
    SHANGHAI, March 2 (Reuters) - China shares closed lower on
Wednesday, with new-energy vehicle makers leading losses as
investors dumped equities with high valuations, while worries
over the impact of aggressive sanctions imposed against Russia
also weighed on sentiment. 
 
** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  was down
0.13% at 3,484.19, while the blue-chip CSI300 index  .CSI300 
fell 0.89%.

** Leading losses, the new-energy vehicle sector  .CSI399976 
lost 2.09% and the CSI300 Industry  .CSI000910  fell 1.17%.     
   
     
** The start-up board ChiNext Composite index  .CNT  slumped
1.77%, dragged lower by battery manufacturing heavyweight CATL
 300750.SZ , which lost 4.2%.
** The Hang Seng index  .HSI  fell 1.84% to 22,343.92, the
lowest since March 23, 2020. The Hang Seng China Enterprises
index  .HSCE  fell 1.8% to 7,908.18.
 
** Property shares and financial firms led losses as the
financial sector  .HSNF  slumped 2.78% and the property sector
fell 1.76%.
    
** Hong Kong-listed shares of Russian aluminium producer OK
Rusal  0486.HK  plunged 26% after miner and trader Glencore
 GLEN.L  said it is reviewing all its business activities in
Russia, including equity stakes in aluminium.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2V50WR      
    
    
** Oil refiners, however, rose after oil prices surged past $110
per barrel, with the CSI Energy  .CSIEN  gaining 2.15%. The
sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares  .HSCIE  rose
2.1%. 
    
** U.S. President Joe Biden banned Russian flights using
American airspace during his State of the Union speech on
Tuesday, in which he also said Russian President Vladimir Putin
would "pay a continuing high price over the long run" for the
invasion of Ukraine.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2V417E
    
** The United Nations General Assembly is set to reprimand
Russia on Wednesday over its invasion of Ukraine and demand that
Moscow stop fighting and withdraw its military forces, a move
that aims to diplomatically isolate Russia at the world
body. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2V519Z    
    
** China's state-owned enterprises must strengthen their
management of investments in sectors such as property, finance,
overseas mergers and acquisitions, and projects in high-risk
nations and areas, the country's state assets regulator said.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2V519Z

** Chinese developers  .CSI000952  edged up 0.42% on marginal
easing policy in a central capital city and expectations of more
relaxing measures.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2V506T
    
** The biggest loser on the Hang Seng was Xinyi Glass Holdings
Ltd  0868.HK , which fell 10.46%, the biggest daily percentage
decline since Dec 20, amid weaker outlook on float glass average
sales price given the recent China property market developments.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2V50GX
                                 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was weaker by 0.81%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed down 1.68%.
 
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 6.3118 per U.S. dollar at
08:10 UTC, 0.01% weaker than the previous close of 6.3113. 

 (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Rashmi Aich and
Uttaresh.V)
 ((zoey.zhang@thomsonreuters.com))