SHANGHAI: Chinese stocks fell for a third session on Friday, tracking weaker global peers amid worries stemming from intensifying conflict in the Middle East and surging US bond yields.
Major Chinese stock indexes, logged their worst week in the year, with both hitting fresh lows in 2023.
The blue-chip CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7% each at close.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.7% and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index declined 0.9%.
For the week, the CSI 300 retreated 4.2% and the Hang Seng lost 3.6%.
Asian shares plumbed a fresh 11-month trough as fears of a regional conflict in the Middle East intensified and a relentless rise in long-term US yields pressured valuations, while supply concerns lifted oil prices further.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note, a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty that also sets the tone for borrowing costs, hit 5% on Thursday for the first time since July 20, 2007.
It overshadowed China’s faster-than-expected growth in the third quarter, although investors are still worried about the deepening downturn in the property sector.
Foreign investors sold a net 24 billion yuan ($3.28 billion) of Chinese shares via the Stock Connect this week, marking the biggest weekly selling in two months.
“Current weakness in the market is mainly due to liquidity - the selling of foreign investors hit market sentiment and offset the effect of other good news,” said analysts at Bohai Securities.
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