China stocks ends lower as COVID worries, Fed hawkish tone weigh

** China plans to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations, the head of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. ** "The messages from today's meeting add conviction to our view that the top leadership is preparing for an exit from three years of zero-COVID policy, but medical preparation remains a near-term bottleneck," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.

China stocks closed down on Friday, tracking cautious mood in regional markets amid concerns of aggressive U.S. tightening and domestic COVID-19 outbreaks.

** The blue-chip CSI 300 Index fell 0.5% at close, while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.6%. ** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index both slipped 0.3%.

** Most Asian markets were rangebound, after U.S. Federal Reserve officials fired more warning shots on interest rates. ** China plans to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations, the head of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

** "The messages from today's meeting add conviction to our view that the top leadership is preparing for an exit from three years of zero-COVID policy, but medical preparation remains a near-term bottleneck," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note. ** However, China's daily coronavirus cases had surged to more than 20,000 in recent days, challenging plans to ease strict movement curbs that had throttled the economy.

** "Recent worsening of the COVID situation in many cities has led to tighter COVID restrictions and added downward pressure to near-term growth," Goldman Sachs added. ** Semiconductor companies dropped 2.9%, and tourism shares lost 1.9%.

** Separately, China is expected to keep benchmark lending rates unchanged for the third straight month on Monday, a Reuters survey showed. ** China's video games regulator on Thursday granted publishing licences to 70 online games, including titles belonging to Tencent Holdings Ltd, NetEase Inc and other developers.

** Tech giants listed in Hong Kong added 0.6%, with gaming company NetEase up 3.7%. ** For the week, China's CSI 300 Index edged up 0.3%, while the Hang Seng benchmark gained 3.8%.

** China's COVID policy re-calibration and announcements of measures to support the housting sector boosted sentiment, said Morgan Stanley analysts, but "execution is key to support sustainable sentiment and fundamental earnings recovery".