China and Hong Kong stocks close down as investors take profits

China and Hong Kong stocks closed down on Monday, led by tech and media shares, as profit-taking in those sectors capped advances of key indexes, while the Chinese yuan rebounded from a four-month low. The CSI Anime Comic Game Index fell 4.6%, the largest one-day percentage drop in a month, after rallying nearly 30% since early February.

China and Hong Kong stocks closed down on Monday, led by tech and media shares, as profit-taking in those sectors capped advances of key indexes, while the Chinese yuan rebounded from a four-month low.

The CSI Anime Comic Game Index fell 4.6%, the largest one-day percentage drop in a month, after rallying nearly 30% since early February. Tech giants traded in Hong Kong fell 0.5%.

Real estate shares were one of the few bright spots on Monday after Premier Li Qiang said China would further optimise property policy and effectively motivate potential demands. ** The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.54%, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 0.5%, the consumer staples sector down 0.76%, the real estate index up 1.62% and the healthcare sub-index down 0.6%. ** The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 1.45% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 1.912%. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.2%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 1.16%. ** At 0659 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 7.2064 per U.S. dollar, 0.31% firmer than the previous close of 7.229. ** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 25.83 points or 0.16% at 16,473.64. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.05% to 5,754.65. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 1.2%, while the IT sector rose 0.11%, the financial sector ended 0.91% lower and the property sector rose 0.11%. ** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was China Hongqiao Group Ltd , which gained 13.4%, while the biggest loser was Lenovo Group Ltd, which fell 8.63%.

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