** China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index lost 0.4% by
the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite
Index edged down 0.2%.
** The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.5%, while the Hang
Seng China Enterprises Index declined 0.7%.
** China reported higher-than-expected first-quarter growth
on Tuesday but some data pointed towards uneven recovery trends.
** Real estate developers lead declines with a
2% drop, after the Tuesday 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 near two-year highs.
** "We caution some strengths, such as pent-up demand and
catch-up production post the COVID 'exit wave', may fade
sequentially in coming months," said Goldman Sachs in a note.
** China is formulating plans to boost economic recovery and
expand consumption, state planner spokesperson Meng Wei said on
Wednesday.
** Amid the weak market sentiment, some investors continued
to bet on AI stocks. Frenzy around OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot had
boosted shares of Chinese companies in the tech, media and
telecom (TMT) sector.
** Shares in media rose 2.6%, artificial
intelligence added 2.4%, and semiconductors climbed 2%.
** Some analysts expect the AI trade will become a main
theme across 2023, while some others argue it is mainly
speculation.
** Tech giants listed in Hong Kong retreated 0.9%,
with Alibaba down 0.7%, 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, as they seek to end a
years-long crackdown on marquee technology firms.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Varun H K)
SHANGHAI, April 19 (Reuters) - Chinese stocks fell on
Wednesday, as an uneven economic recovery after China dropped
the zero-COVID policy and some contradictory macro data in the
first quarter kept investor sentiment weak.
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