** China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index was down 0.6%
by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite
Index lost 0.7%.
** The Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng China
Enterprises Index both edged up 0.2%.
** Other Asian stocks inched lower, while the dollar was on
the back foot as investors remained cautious ahead of an
expected 25 basis point hike in interest rates by the U.S.
Federal Reserve next month.
** Investor sentiment in China has been subdued after the
world's second-largest economy reported economic data for the
first quarter on Tuesday. The gross domestic product figure beat
market expectations but some data pointed towards uneven
recovery trends.
** Furthermore, China kept its benchmark lending rates
unchanged for the eighth straight month on Thursday, as economic
recovery reduced the need for any immediate monetary support,
bolstering beliefs that the central bank would unlikely ease
policy rates in the near term to boost the economy.
** Even amid muted market sentiment, investors continue to
bet on Artificial Intelligence (AI) stocks. Frenzy around
Chinese equivalents of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot boosted shares
of companies in the tech, media and telecom (TMT) sector.
** Shares of AI , semiconductor ,
and media companies jumped between 2% and 3.6% on
Thursday.
** Analysts say that surging AI stocks have drained money
from other sectors such as the new energy and consumer
companies, putting pressure on the broader market.
** New energy companies fell 2.6%.
** In Hong Kong, tech giants added 0.3%, but
mainland property developers declined 1.5%.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
SHANGHAI, April 20 (Reuters) - Chinese stocks fell on
Thursday, even as information technology shares shot up, as
uneven economic recovery after the country's reopening this year
resulted in muted market sentiment.
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