SHANGHAI: China stocks closed lower on Thursday, tracking a global slump after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s December meeting pointed to a faster-than-expected rise in interest rates, while the surge in COVID-19 infections also weighed on sentiment.

The blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 1% at 4,818.23, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3% to 3,586.08 points.

A “very tight” job market and unabated inflation might require the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected and begin reducing its overall asset holdings as a second brake on the economy, U.S. central bank policymakers said in their meeting last month.

The more hawkish-than-expected views of U.S. central bank officials pushed Treasury yields higher, potentially draining liquidity from emerging markets.

Refinitiv data showed outflows of more than 2.4 billion yuan through the Northbound legs of the Stock Connect programme, showing overseas investors were net sellers of A-shares on Thursday.

Activity in China’s services sector expanded at a faster pace in December amid higher demand and easing inflationary pressure, but continuing small-scale COVID-19 outbreaks weighed on the outlook, a private sector survey showed. More cities in China resorted to tough curbs as new coronavirus infections rose, which are likely to dampen the consumption recovery.