** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai
Composite Index both dropped 1.0% by the lunch break.
** Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was down
0.5%, and the China Enterprises Index lost 1.0%.
** Profits at industrial firms in China declined 22.9% in
the first two months of 2023 from the year before, as the
factory sector struggles to claw its way out of the slump caused
by COVID-related disruptions.
** A senior Communist Party official said on Saturday that
the foundation of China's economic recovery is not solid enough,
warning of possible spillover effects from global economic
problems.
** Geopolitical tensions also weighed. Putin said on
Saturday that Russia would station tactical nuclear weapons in
Belarus.
** Shares of Chinese state-owned enterprises dropped, giving
up some of this month's gains. Shares of China Petroleum &
Chemical Corp lost 3.4% after the company recorded a
6.9% decline in net income for 2022. Meanwhile, PetroChina Co
Ltd slid 2.1%.
** Shares of telecommunication services declined 1.7%, with China United Network Communications Ltd , China Mobile Ltd , and China Telecom
Corp Ltd , down 2.9%, 4.1%, and 5.9%, respectively.
** Tech stocks traded in Hong Kong slumped 1.7%,
led by Meituan and Xiaomi . Shares of Meituan
declined as much as 6.7%, following its fourth-quarter earnings
release.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom)
