** China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index was down 0.9%,
while the Shanghai Composite Index finished 0.7% lower.
** The Hang Seng Index fell 1.4%, while the Hang Seng
China Enterprises Index declined 1.6%.
** China reported higher-than-expected first-quarter growth
on Tuesday but some data pointed towards uneven recovery trends.
** Real estate developers led declines with a
2.6% drop, after Tuesday's data showed property investment fell
5.8% from a year earlier.
** The data also showed factory output growth was just below
expectations, while retail sales growth hit nearly two-year
highs.
** "We caution (that) some strengths, such as pent-up demand
and catch-up production post the COVID 'exit wave', may fade
sequentially in coming months," Goldman Sachs said in a note.
** China is drafting proposals to boost economic recovery
and expand consumption, state planner spokesperson Meng Wei said
on Wednesday.
** Separately, a Reuters survey showed China is widely
expected to stand pat on lending benchmarks at the monthly
fixing on Thursday.
** Amid weak sentiment, however, some investors continued to
bet on AI stocks. Frenzy around Chinese equivalents of OpenAI's
ChatGPT chatbot boosted shares of companies in the tech, media
and telecom (TMT) sector.
** Shares in media rose 0.8%, artificial
intelligence added 0.3%, and semiconductors climbed 0.5%.
** Some analysts expect that AI trade will become a focus in
2023, while others argue that it is mainly speculation.
** Tech giants listed in Hong Kong retreated 2.4%,
with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd down 2.7%, even after
Reuters reported that Chinese regulators are expected to fine
Ant Group about a quarter less than the more than $1 billion
initially planned and downgrade their charges against it.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Varun H K and Sonia
Cheema)
(Updates to market close)
SHANGHAI, April 19 (Reuters) - Chinese stocks closed
lower on Wednesday due to bumpy economic recovery after the
country dropped its strict zero-COVID policy and as uneven
first-quarter macro data weighed on sentiment.
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