HONG KONG: China stocks dipped again on Wednesday to the lowest since February 2019, while Hong Kong shares logged a seven-day losing streak, as the absence of market catalysts kept investor sentiment low.

The blue-chip CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5% each.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.6% and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 0.5%.

In Asia, Japanese stocks hit a near 34-year high, while other Asian equities meandered around one-month lows ahead of US inflation data due this week.

Jason Lui, head of APAC equity derivatives strategy at BNP Paribas, sees limited upside for China stocks in 2024 as the visibility of policies or their implementation has been not very clear.

He added the weak start of Hong Kong stocks this year was due to the market not seeing “any major new policy announcement coming out of the broader China complex”.

Dong Chen, chief Asia strategist at Pictet Wealth Management, said on Wednesday the firm expects a moderate recovery in the Chinese economy in 2024.

“The property sector will likely remain a drag on growth,” he said.

Uncertainties surrounding the upcoming Taiwan election also caught the eyes of investors.

On Tuesday, the Taiwan government issued a mistaken air raid alert after a Chinese rocket carrying a science satellite flew over southern Taiwan.

China on Wednesday said the satellite launch was a regular annual arrangement.

The anime Comic Game Index, which covers smaller game makers listed in mainland markets, lost 2.8% to lead the decline.

Photovoltaic stocks gained 1.4%, outperforming most sectors.

Hong Kong-listed tech giants dropped 0.8%, extending losses to a fourth consecutive session.