** China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index edged up 0.1%
by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite
Index slipped 0.1%.
** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.2%, and the
Hang Seng China Enterprises Index declined 0.1%.
** However, some other Asian shares rose as investors
cheered signs of easing inflationary pressure in the U.S. after
data showed consumer prices in April rose at a
slower-than-expected pace.
** China's consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in more
than two years in April, while factory gate deflation deepened,
data showed, suggesting that more stimulus might be needed to
boost a patchy post-COVID economic recovery.
** "The subdued inflation readings suggest post-COVID
recovery momentum continued to weaken in April," said Ting
Lu, chief China economist at Nomura.
** "China will likely experience a short period of CPI
deflation in the coming months," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief
economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
** The weak consumer price rise reinforces the signals from
this week's trade data suggesting domestic demand remains
lacklustre.
** Shares in energy went down 0.9%, and artificial
intelligence firms dropped 1.1%. Meanwhile, new
energy and media firms jumped 1.5% and
3.4%, respectively.
** Tech giants listed in Hong Kong added 0.9%,
with Alibaba up 1.6%.
** Separately, sources said China has told its "big four"
state-owned banks to reduce the ceiling on interest rates they
pay on some deposits, as banks face squeezed margins under the
weight of huge inflows of savings and deposits amid rising
economic risks.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
