** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 0.5% by
the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost
0.4%.
** Meanwhile, Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 1.6%, while the China Enterprises Index slumped
1.9%.
** Investor sentiment remained weak after data last Tuesday
showed the economy's recovery after its reopening from COVID
restrictions was uneven, sending mainland share benchmarks down
for five consecutive sessions.
** The market was also concerned about U.S. restrictions on
technology investments, analysts said.
** "The geopolitical overhang has weighed on offshore China,
i.e. Hong Kong and US-listed China stocks as the last two days
saw geopolitical concerns spilling over into onshore China,"
wrote Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer at KraneShares in
a note.
** "The recent pullback in onshore China should get
attention from policy makers," he said.
** That worry dragged Hong Kong-listed tech giants down 3.5%, with Meituan tumbling 4.8%.
** In mainland markets, new energy shares and
communications equipment stocks slumped 2.9% and
4.1%, respectively.
** Market participants also cautiously awaited the April
Politburo meeting this week, when a top decision-making body of
the Communist Party discusses the economy.
** "The April Politburo meeting is the next key event to
watch. Better-than-expected Q1 GDP took some pressure off
policymakers to conduct broad-based easing, but the divergences
underlying the economy call for targeted support," Goldman Sachs
said in a note.
** "We expect the broad monetary and fiscal stance to be
unchanged, some industry-level policies (e.g., property and
internet) to loosen further."
** Separately, China nudged banks this month to cut deposit
interest rates further, sources told Reuters, in the latest
effort to channel the country's vast savings pool into spending
and more productive investments.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom)
