** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index fell 0.7% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng tanked 1.8%, as tech shares tumbled.
** The United States will explore taking action against entities connected to China's military that supported the flight of a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said on Thursday.
** The U.S. is conducting a post-mortem on the wreckage of the balloon, and "one can sense the impending storm in Washington," John Browning, Managing Director of BANDS Financial wrote in a note. "Certainly, more sanctions will follow."
** Meanwhile, data released on Friday showed that China's
January factory gate prices fell more than economists expected,
suggesting that flashes of domestic demand — that had stoked
consumer prices after the zero-COVID policy ended — are not yet
strong enough to rekindle upstream sectors.
** Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China Economics at
Capital Economics, expects China's central bank to cut policy
rates as soon as next week to bolster the economy further.
** China's tech-focused STAR Market dropped, and
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech Index slumped more than 4%, amid
media reports that the Joe Biden administration is poised to
introduce new restrictions on U.S. companies funding the
development of advanced computing technologies in China.
** China's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Index fell 1% from 10-month highs. Hanwang Technology Co Ltd , widely seen as a bellwether of Chinese interest in ChatGPT-concept stocks, tumbled roughly 6% on Friday, after disclosing several major shareholders reduced stakes over the past few days. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; editing by Uttaresh.V)
