SHANGHAI: Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Tuesday, as investors reassessed prospects for an end to the US-Iran conflict that has pushed up global oil prices.
At the close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite index eased 0.8 percent, snapping a five-session winning streak, while the blue-chip CSI300 index also slipped 0.8 percent.
The smaller Shenzhen index was down 0.5 percent, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index inched up 0.3 percent and Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR50 index lost 1.6 percent.
US President Donald Trump on Monday responded to Iran’s conditions for a peace deal with his own demands that Iran pay compensation for people killed in wars, attacks and protests, in a rhetorical escalation likely to complicate efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices rose more than 2 percent on Tuesday to over one-week highs as hopes for a US-Iran deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz faded.
“Attacks on shipping and oil infrastructure in the Middle East over the weekend, together with Iran’s renewed demand for concessions and rejection of direct negotiation with the US, added further uncertainty to the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” analysts at OCBC said in a note.
In China, non-ferrous metal stocks led the declines, with a sub-index tracking the sector falling 4.7 percent.
Chinese robot maker Unitree said on Monday its USD900 million Shanghai initial public offering was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors, reflecting investor fever.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index lost 1.1 percent, and the city’s tech shares dropped 1.9 percent.
Hong Kong’s material shares were the main dragger, with the Hang Seng material sub-index plunging 4.6 percent.
Separately, investors awaited signals from US inflation data due later this week for more clues on how the Iran conflict has fanned price pressures, which could affect the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook after last week’s weak employment report tempered rate hike expectations.
Comments