New energy shares drag China stocks lower; Hong Kong gains

China stocks fell on Thursday as investors sold new energy shares to snap up property developers on reports of imminent government support, while technology giants and biotech firms lifted Hong Kong equities.

China stocks fell on Thursday as investors sold new energy shares to snap up property developers on reports of imminent government support, while technology giants and biotech firms lifted Hong Kong equities. ** China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index closed 0.9% lower, while the Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.2%.

** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.4% and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.6%. The Hang Seng Tech index climbed 0.3%. ** Other Asian markets were mixed, a day after a big sell-off as investors weighed the risk of the Fed announcing a 100-basis-point interest rate increase.

** "Investors are still in a wait-and see mood as you can see from the weak trade volume today in Hong Kong," said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Group, adding that worries about big rate hikes would continue to weigh on capital inflows. ** China's Chengdu city exited a full COVID-19 lockdown in all districts still facing strict movement curbs.

** Five of China's largest banks cut personal deposit rates, a move that could ease the pressure on their margins after recent lending rate cuts to revive the economy. ** China President Xi Jinping is encouraging local governments to relax homebuying restrictions except the four Tier-1 cities, financial information provider REDD reported.

** Guangzhou city allowed property developers to reduce sale prices of homes by as much as 20% compared with 6% previously, the first top-tier cities to do so, Chinese financial news outlet Yicai reported. ** Property stocks led the gains, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index jumping over 4%, while China's CSI Real Estate Index rose 3.5%.

** New energy shares tumbled 5.4%, semiconductor names dropped 3%, automobiles went down 3.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks lost 2.2%. ** Chinese drug services provider Wuxi Bio rebounded 6.6% after shedding over 20% in the past two days.

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