** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index fell 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed.
** Both Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and the China Enterprises Index rose 0.3%. Tech stocks traded in Hong Kong gained 0.1%.
** Hong Kong's healthcare stocks jumped 2.6% while materials shares rose 2.4%.
** China's services activity in March revved up at the quickest pace in 2-1/2 years on robust new orders and job creation and a consumption-led post-COVID recovery, a private-sector survey showed on Thursday.
** But the optimism was counteracted by a flare-up in Sino-U.S tensions as U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosted Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California on Wednesday, and stressed the need to accelerate arms deliveries to Taiwan in the face of rising threats from China.
** An index tracking China's defence stocks jumped 2.1% as maritime authorities in China's Fujian province launched a three-day special patrol and inspection operation in the Taiwan Strait.
** Meanwhile, investors closely monitor the China visits by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron, which could set a course for future relations after years of strained ties.
** "China could at least be a relative 'safe haven' given its growth premium, financial soundness, policy discipline and the new political economy cycle," Citi said in a note to clients. "We still believe the party of capital inflows is not over yet."
** China's AI-related stocks remain buoyant, despite growing
bubble concerns following price surges over the past month on
the back of the ChatGPT mania.
** The AI index rose 0.1%, flirting with fresh
14-month highs, while China's chipmaking index surged 3.5% to the highest level since January 2022.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Varun H K)
