SHANGHAI: China stocks closed at a 20-month low on Monday, tracking a slump in global equity markets amid surging commodity prices and an escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis, while resurgent domestic COVID-19 outbreaks also weighed on sentiment.
China on Saturday set a higher-than-expected economic growth target, which analysts say is tough to reach and requires more supporting measures.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 3.2% to 4,352.78, its lowest level since July 2, 2020. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.2% to 3,372.86 points.
** China targeted slower economic growth of around 5.5% this year as headwinds including an uncertain global recovery and a downturn in the country's vast property sector cast a pall on the world's second-largest economy. The target was, however, above economists and analysts' estimates.
** Around the globe, oil prices soared and shares sank as the risk of a US and European ban on Russian products and delays in Iranian talks triggered what is shaping up as a major stagflationary shock for world markets.
** Consumer staples, healthcare, information technology, new energy and semiconductor stocks went down between 3% and 4%.
** Mainland China reported the highest number of daily new local symptomatic COVID-19 infections in about two years, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant pressures its stringent policy to curb each outbreak quickly.
** Tourism and transport slumped 6.9% and 4.8%, respectively.
** Real estate developers edged down 0.1%, and banks lost 2.3%. Premier Li Keqiang confirmed expectations that more easing in the sector is coming, though only city-specific and not a full-scale relaxation.
** "Beijing continues to encourage the 'one city, one policy', in order to facilitating a virtuous cycle and healthy development of the housing market," HSBC analysts said in a note.
** Outflows through the Northbound leg of Stock Connect on Monday totalled 4.9 billion yuan ($0.78 billion), according to Refinitiv data.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.