China stocks mixed, set for flat week on tighter regulatory curbs

SHANGHAI: Chinese stocks were mixed on Friday and looked set to end the week roughly flat, as heightened regulatory efforts to curb speculative trading tempered risk appetite.

• China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 0.4% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3%.
• Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng was up 0.3%.
• The CSI300 Index and the Hang Seng Index have both fallen 0.5% so far this week.
• Over the past week, Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges each took regulatory measures against hundreds of abnormal trading practices such price pumping and false orders.
• The bourses also launched probes into several listed companies over allegedly misleading statements.
• The measures reflect regulators’ intention to slow the pace of market gains. Last week, China tightened margin financing requirements after the Shanghai market hit decade-highs in record turnover.
• “Despite the latest tightening measures, we continue to believe that liquidity support for both A shares and the Hong Kong market can be sustained, at least through the first quarter,” analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note.
• “Reallocations from bonds and term deposits, together with steady insurance inflows remain the core drivers of improving A share liquidity,” they said.
• Alibaba’s Hong Kong shares hit a near three-month high on a report to list its chip-making arm T-Head.
• Non-ferrous metal shares rose 2.1%, while defense shares climbed 3.6%,leading gains onshore.
• Artificial intelligence shares dropped 1.2%.
• Tech majors traded in Hong Kong edged up 0.1%.  ‑Reuters