SHANGHAI: China's blue-chip index slumped to a 19-month low on Tuesday, with new-energy vehicle stocks leading the losses, as investors fretted over the prospect of the US government adding more Chinese entities to the export control list.
** At the midday break, the blue-chip CSI300 index was down 2.14%, the lowest level since July 27, 2020.
** Leading the losses, the new-energy vehicle sector sub-index slumped 5.84% while the CSI300 Industry index lost 4.03%.
** Shanghai's Nasdaq-style STAR Market fell 3.09% to the lowest since May 6, 2020, while the start-up market ChiNext dropped 4.27% to nearly 14-month low.
** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 1.55% to 8,456.57, while the Hang Seng Index was down 1.54% at 24,202.19. The IT sector sub-index of the Hang Seng index fell 2.4%.
** Shanghai Composite index was down 0.9% at 3,398.72 points and the smaller Shenzhen index was down 2.01%.
** The US Commerce Department said on Monday it had added 33 Chinese entities to its so-called 'unverified list', which requires US exporters to go through more procedures before shipping goods to the entities.
** Shares of WuXi Biologics slumped more than 30% after the maker of ingredients for vaccines was added to the list by the United States. Trade in its shares was later halted.
** The US House of Representatives had also passed a multibillion-dollar bill aimed at increasing American competitiveness with China and offset China's market-distorting trade practices by strengthening anti-dumping rules.
** "The biggest risk the market is confronting right now, is that the Fed must tighten even as the US economy starts to buckle under the weight of inflation and a slowing Chinese economic cycle," Hong Hao, head of research at BOCOM International wrote in a note on Monday.
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index dipped 0.09%, while Japan's Nikkei index was up 0.23%.
** The yuan was quoted at 6.3592 per US dollar, 0.05% firmer than the previous close of 6.3625.