HONG KONG: China and Hong Kong stocks were flat on Tuesday, as investors awaited more clarity on the trade situation after the Trump administration stepped up probes into semiconductor imports.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index climbed less than 0.1% and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2% at close, after both traded in a tight range during the day.
Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng closed up 0.3% after swinging between gains and losses during the morning session.
The US Donald Trump administration has escalated probes into semiconductor imports on national security grounds, after exempting some Chinese tech products from steep tariffs, which officials say will soon be subject to a new set of duties.
The ongoing trade uncertainty weighed on chip stocks for both onshore and offshore markets. The CSI Semiconductor Industry Index slid 1.2% and the electronics subindex lost 1.1%, both giving up most of the gains made on Monday.
The Hang Seng Tech Index lost 0.7% in Hong Kong, with chip maker SMIC sliding 4.5% and peer Hua Hong Semiconductor weakening 3.2%.
“The US–China tariff situation is highly fluid, with changes occurring almost by the hour,” Yan Wang, chief emerging markets and China strategist at Alpine Macro, said in a note.
There is still heightened uncertainty in the near term, so aggressive risk-taking in Chinese stocks is not warranted, he said.
Helping offset losses in the mainland market, the CSI Banks Index added 1.5% and the consumer staples sector gained 0.3%.
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