SHANGHAI: China stocks edged lower on Friday, ending the week lower after a four-week winning streak, as regulators tightened margin financing rules and vowed to crack down on excessive speculation to cool down sentiment.
Hong Kong shares were up this week.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index closed down 0.4 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.3 percent on the day. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.3 percent.
For the week, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.5 percent, ending a run of gains since mid-December, while the Hang Seng Index rose 2.3 percent. China’s securities regulator pledged to “comprehensively” step up market monitoring and “resolutely” prevent sharp fluctuations, according to a statement released on Friday.
The People’s Bank of China announced cuts to sector-specific interest rates on Thursday to provide an early boost to the economy, signaling room for further reductions in banks’ cash reserve requirements and for broader rate cuts this year.
“The moves were a positive surprise as they gave a clear signal on monetary policy stance,” said UBS economists in a note. “It is difficult to reflate the economy without further policy loosening.”
Market mood was dampened this week after Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing bourses said that they would raise the minimum margin requirement for new borrowings to 100 percent from 80 percent, effective January 19.
Onshore semiconductor shares rose 3.4 percent, as TSMC, the world’s main producer of advanced artificial intelligence chips, on Thursday posted a forecast-smashing 35 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit to a record high, predicted robust annual growth and flagged that more US manufacturing capacity was in the works.
Non-ferrous metal shares were down 0.9 percent. They were up nearly 5 percent this week.
Tech majors listed in Hong Kong edged down 0.1 percent.
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