China stocks fall

China stocks edged lower on Wednesday, as renewed worries over North Korea and surging US bond yields dampened sentiment in Asian markets, while investors await news from a second round of US-China trade talks in Washington this week. The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.8 percent, to 3,892.84, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 percent to 3,169.57 points.
Pyongyang abruptly called off talks with Seoul, throwing a US-North Korean summit into doubt. The cancellation could see tensions on the Korean peninsula flare again even as investors worry about China-US trade talks and the sustainability of global economic growth.
Meanwhile, strong US retail sales and factory data on Tuesday pushed the US 10-year yield through a key level to hit 3.095 percent, its highest since July 2011, raising worries about higher borrowing costs for companies worldwide.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares was flat while the IT sector dipped 0.39 percent, the financial sector was flat and the property sector index dipped 0.32 percent.
The top gainer on Hang Seng was WH Group Ltd up 3.79 percent, while the biggest loser was Wharf Real Estate Investment Company Ltd, down 3.72 percent.
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.02 percent while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.44 percent.
The yuan was quoted at 6.3702 per US dollar at 07:20 GMT, 0.04 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.3725.
As of the previous trading session, the Hang Seng index was up 4.12 percent this year, while China's H-share index was up 6.2 percent. As of the previous close, the Hang Seng has risen 1.12 percent this month.
The top gainers among H-shares were Air China Ltd up 3.15 percent, followed by China Gas Holdings Ltd gaining 1.85 percent and Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd up by 1.85 percent. The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were PICC Property and Casualty Co Ltd which was down 1.80 percent, Byd Co Ltd which fell 1.6 percent and China Galaxy Securities Co Ltd, down by 1.6 percent.
About 1.08 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 64.3 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of 1.68 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 1.62 billion.
At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 19.81 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.