** China's blue-chip CSI 300 closed down 1.5%,
while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.1%.
** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.3%, and the
China Enterprises Index dropped 0.4%.
** China stocks were mixed in the first half of the trading
session before being dragged lower by customs data showing
China's exports in the January-February period fell from a year
earlier. Imports also decreased at a faster rate, reflecting a
slowdown in the global economy and weak domestic demand.
** Capital Economics said in note that the import trade
volume dimmed hopes for an economic rebound.
** "China's economy will have to depend more on domestic demand this year," Zhiwei Zhang, President and Chief Economist at Pinpoint Asset Management wrote in a note.
** China will strive to achieve full-year economic targets
and push forward high-quality development, state media reported
on Monday, citing Li Qiang, a Chinese Communist Party Politburo
Standing Committee member.
** China and Hong Kong energy indexes soared, tracking
rising global oil prices after industry executives flagged
concerns over oil supplies while demand from China increases as
the economy recovers.
** Energy stocks were also boosted after the Shanghai Stock
Exchange head on Monday proposed an upward revaluation of
central state-owned enterprises on Monday. Major energy and
financial companies in China are predominantly state-owned.
** The CSI Energy index was up 1.4%, with CNOOC rising 5.9%, China Petroleum & Chemical 3.1% and PetroChina 2.4%. Similarly in Hong Kong
market, energy shares gained 3.2%.
** Tech giants in Hong Kong fell 1.3%.
** Globally, investors will monitor congressional testimony
from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the day for
clues on the central bank's next move on interest rates.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Bradley Perrett and
Barbara Lewis)
