SHANGHAI: China stocks recouped earlier losses and ended largely flat on Monday, as investors turned cautious ahead of a busy week of major central bank meetings.
By the close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite index was up 0.2 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index was roughly unchanged at 4,103.54 points.
Tech shares remained among the key losers, with the startup board ChiNext Composite index falling 1.7 percent and Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR50 index tumbling 2.2 percent.
The CSI 5G communications, which tracks the industry, plunged 4 percent.
Partly offsetting the weakness, oil and gas shares bounced, with a sub-index tracking the sector rising 2.4 percent, as persistent attacks on key producer Saudi Arabia kept investors cautious despite hopes for easing tensions between the United States and Iran.
In the region, stock markets traded cautiously ahead of a week packed with central bank meetings and corporate earnings that will further test investor confidence in the AI boom. China stocks were volatile last week, with blue-chip shares posting a record-long weekly losing streak, despite a surge in trading in exchange-traded funds favored by state-backed investors.
“Concerns over selling caused by trust tax, pressure on ecommerce, a weakening macro and elevated global market volatility have caused an acceleration of China’s market correction,” analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note. “So for the A-share market, important to watch is when the National Team officially starts to buy in a high-profile way,” they said.
Meanwhile, investors are focused on major central bank meetings this week, with the US Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and European Central Bank widely expected to keep rates unchanged while maintaining a hawkish tone.
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