** But the first batch of blue-chips to float under a
U.S-style listing system surged on their debut.
** The Hong Kong market is closed for the Easter holiday.
** The blue-chip CSI300 Index fell 0.5%, while the
Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.4%.
** Risk appetite was curbed by a flare-up in geopolitical
tensions, after China's military simulated precision strikes
against Taiwan in a second day of drills around the island on
Sunday.
** China began three days of military exercises after Taiwan
President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the United
States.
** Market was not helped by a tumble in tech stocks as the
ChatGPT mania cooled.
** The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Index tumbled 5%, the
biggest one-day drop in six moths. The STAR Chip Index slumped 4.1% in its worst day since last September,
while the STAR 50 Index closed down 2.7%.
** Bucking the broad market tepidness, 10 Chinese stocks
jumped on their debut which marks the full roll-out of China's
registration-based IPO mechanism.
** Shenzhen CECport Technologies Co , an
electronic components distributor based in the southern
technology hub Shenzhen, surged 221.5%, following its 2.25
billion yuan ($327.18 million) IPO.
** Dencare Chongqing Oral Care Co , an oral
products maker, closed up 174% and Shaanxi Energy Investment Co gained nearly 50%.
** Investors cheered the introduction of the new IPO system to the main board. The system had previously been adopted by Shanghai's tech-focused STAR Market, Shenzhen's start-up board ChiNext and the Beijing Stock Exchange for small companies. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
