China shares fall on profit-taking, foreign outflows

SHANGHAI: China's blue-chip shares fell on Thursday, dragged by a slump in battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology and profit-taking in consumer firms, while worries over the impact of US sanctions and higher rates continued to dampen sentiment.

** At the midday break, China's blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.53%. The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.1% at 3,476.46.

** The consumer staples sector fell 0.34%, a day after rising 3.34% in its biggest daily gain in two months.

** The liquor sector fell 1.24% after surging nearly 4.7% on Wednesday on strong foreign buying.

China stocks end higher

** While foreign investors remained net buyers of A-shares overall on Thursday, Refinitiv data showed outflows through the Northbound leg of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Stock Connect.

** Shenzhen-listed Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) was the biggest drag on the CSI300, slumping as much as 8.63% to a nearly four-month low. It was last down 7.9%.

** Hong Kong Exchange data showed CATL leading turnover among A-shares through the Stock Connect on Thursday, at 9.25 billion yuan ($1.45 billion).

** The healthcare sub-index also fell 1.27%, with WuXi AppTec plunging 6.9% on ongoing concern over its addition to a US Department of Commerce "unverified list".

** WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc was the biggest loser on the Hang Seng index, slumping 7.39%. WuXi AppTec's Hong Kong shares fell 8.55%.

** The smaller Shenzhen index was down 0.69%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 2.36% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index was down 1.51%.

** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 0.27% to 8,699.94, while the Hang Seng Index was down 0.48% at 24,710.02.

** The yuan was quoted at 6.3582 per US dollar, 0.07% firmer than the previous close of 6.3624.