China stocks close lower on COVID-19 concerns

China stocks closed lower on Friday as domestic COVID-19 cases and a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant weighed on investor sentiment, with semiconductor-related and energy shares leading the drop.

China stocks closed lower on Friday as domestic COVID-19 cases and a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant weighed on investor sentiment, with semiconductor-related and energy shares leading the drop. The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.7%, to 4,860.13, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6% to 3,564.09 points.

** For the week, the CSI300 index shed 0.6%, while the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.1%. ** A handful of local COVID-19 cases in eastern parts of China have prompted Shanghai city to limit tourism activities and a nearby city to cut public transportation services.

** That sent tourism stocks and consumer staples down 1.8% and 0.8%, respectively. ** Meanwhile, the real estate sub-index, the energy sub-index, the semiconductor sub-index dropped between 1.2% and 2.8%.

** In the global market, the detection of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa spooked investors, pushing them to dump risk assets and flock to safe havens. ** Refinitiv data showed outflows of around 800 million yuan through the Northbound legs of the Stock Connect programme ,, showing overseas investors were net sellers of A-shares.

** Morgan Stanley said it continues to prefer A-shares in the China space and will wait for a better entry point. ** "Recent remarks around a policy easing stance and an A-share structural inflow catalyst are positive, but pressure lingers on the earnings front and consensus' estimates reduction could last for longer," Morgan Stanley said in a note.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)