** Investors also worried that the U.S. non-farm payrolls
report due on Friday could spur more aggressive interest rate
hikes from the Federal Reserve.
** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 1.12% by
the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost
1.15%.
** Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng was down 2.46%;
the Hang Seng China Enterprise Index dropped 2.47%.
** Asian markets were also driven lower on Friday by bank
stocks, as MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside
Japan dropped to a two-month low.
** "This week's economic indicators, for example, the
worse-than-expected 10.2% drop in January and February import
data, has revived investors' concerns about the pace of economic
recovery in China and weighed on sentiments in Hong Kong," said
Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities.
** On Thursday, China reported consumer price index (CPI)
for February 1.0% higher than a year earlier, rising at the
slowest pace since February 2022 and indicating cautious
consumption sentiment.
** Automobile stocks in both China and Hong Kong led key
indexes lower on weak sales momentum for new cars.
** CSI All Share Automobiles Index plunged
4.31%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index sank 3.61%,
weighed by automobile stocks such as BYD Co and Geely
Auto .
** Hong Kong shares of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com tumbled 11.77% leading the decliners in the Hang Seng
Index after its 7.1% revenue growth for the fourth-quarter 2022
missed estimates.
** Shares of Asia-focussed insurer AIA Group Ltd fell as much as 4% after reporting that its value of new business (VONB), which measures expected profits from new premiums and is a key gauge for future growth, slid 8% to $3.09 billion last year. (Reporting by Georgina Lee; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
