China stocks fall as virus worries, Fed rate hike bets weigh; Hong Kong up

China shares fell on Tuesday as expectations of quicker U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and domestic local COVID-19 outbreaks weighed on sentiment, with defence and information technology stocks leading the decline. ** Some banks rose on robust 2021 earnings results, with the CSI 300 Banks Index up more than 1%. ** Tech giants and healthcare firms lifted Hong Kong stocks.

China shares fell on Tuesday as expectations of quicker U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and domestic local COVID-19 outbreaks weighed on sentiment, with defense and information technology stocks leading the decline. The CSI300 index fell 0.3% to 4,830.14 by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1% to 3,590.82.

The Hang Seng index climbed 0.4% to 23,833.57. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.5% to 8,408.52. ** Some of Wall Street's biggest banks now expect the Fed to raise interest rates four times this year, and Goldman Sachs sees the Fed begins the process of reducing its balance sheet size as soon as July.

** The defense sector slumped 2.2%, while the information technology sub-index, agriculture stocks, and automobiles retreated between 1.5% and 1.8%. ** China is battling with the latest local COVID-19 outbreaks, and the Omicron variant has been detected in at least three provinces.

** Real estate developers extended gains to a third session, rising 2.1% on marginal policy easing expectations for the sector. ** Some banks rose on robust 2021 earnings results, with the CSI 300 Banks Index up more than 1%.

** Tech giants and healthcare firms lifted Hong Kong stocks. ** The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 0.5%, with Tencent Holdings and Meituan up 1.6% and 1.9% respectively, while Alibaba Group lost 1.4%.

** Wuxi Biologics jumped 6.2% to become the biggest percentage gainer on the Hang Seng Index after a filing showed JPMorgan Chase & Co's long position in the pharmaceutical firm had risen to 5%. ** The Hang Seng healthcare sub-index gained 2.4%. CanSino Biologics Inc fell 6.7% on a share sale report.

** Property developer Shimao Group Holdings edged up 0.4% after it denied a report that it had entered into a preliminary agreement to sell a Shanghai plaza. ** Mainland developers listed in Hong Kong added 2.3%.

 

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