SHANGHAI: China and Hong Kong stocks finished lower on Monday amid rising Sino-US tensions, while investors awaited policy signals from the upcoming National People’s Congress.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index closed down 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng benchmark slid 0.4% and the China Enterprises Index fell 0.6%.

The United States warned China of serious consequences if it provided arms to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, heightening tensions between the world’s top two economies.

US-China relations are the dominant uncertainty weighing on investor mind, Goldman Sachs said, citing feedback from investors. The bank noted long-duration capital managers were somewhat hesitant to deploy fresh capital to work.

Last week, foreign inflows via the China-Hong Kong Stock Connect recorded net weekly outflows for the first time this year, implying investors are holding back and the re-opening momentum is likely slowing.

This week, the focus will be on the China PMI print and the kick-off of the National People’s Congress. Investors are waiting for clues from the PMI print and policy signals.

Morgan Stanley expects the NBS manufacturing PMI to increase to 50.5 in February from 50.1 in January, as domestic supply and demand likely improved amid business normalisation and infrastructure easing, while exports likely remained a drag.

The CSI food and beverage sub-index rose 1.0%, while semiconductors declined 1.8%.

The Hang Seng healthcare sub-index tumbled 1.6%, materials lost 1.9%, and finance slumped 0.4%.

Haidilao soared 14% after the hotpot restaurant chain said last Friday that its net profit for 2022 would not be less than 1,300 million yuan, making it no longer a loss-making entity.