HONG KONG: China stocks edged lower on Wednesday, moving sideways as investors were cautious ahead of the upcoming May Day ‘Golden Week’ holiday, while persistent geopolitical tensions also weighed on sentiment.

Shares in Hong Kong rose tracking a rebound in US stock futures, as buybacks and earnings beats boosted technology giants in after-hours trade.

China stocks decline for fifth straight session

** China’s blue-chip CSI 300 Index slid 0.15%, while the Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.31% by the midday break.

** Hang Seng Index climbed 0.59%, while Hang Seng China Enterprises Index went up 0.69%, both snapping a three straight days of losses.

** Nine Republican senators called on the Biden administration to impose sanctions against Huawei Cloud and other Chinese cloud service providers, citing national security concerns.

** “We believe that the market focus will be gradually shifted from themes and geopolitics to economic data and corporate earnings as China has returned to the pre-pandemic economic growth trajectory,” said Chris Liu, senior portfolio manager, China A-shares at Invesco.

** Based on booking data from many online travel agencies, China’s tourism industry is likely to see a strong upcoming ‘Golden Week’ holiday, he said.

** Shanghai government said it would promote investments in specialized technology including chip design, circuitry and artificial intelligence, as the country pushes forward with a move toward tech self-reliance.

** Photovoltaic stocks surged 6.2% and new energy sector gained 5%, while shares of artificial intelligence (AI) dropped 3.5%.

** Hong Kong-listed tech firms rebounded 1.3%. Alibaba fall more than 3% to their lowest since March 21 in the early trade but ended morning session down 0.7%.

** European Union (EU) has singled out 19 tech giants, including Alibaba’s AliExpress, subjecting them to landmark EU online content rules, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Tuesday.