INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SHANGHAI: Shanghai stocks plumbed a 20-month low on Friday as investors worried rising trade tensions with the United States could add
pressure to the country's economic growth.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.5 per cent to 3,753.43, the Shanghai Composite Index hit its
lowest since September 2016 before ending down 0.7 per cent at 3,021.90
Both indexes were down for the third session in a row
For the week, SSEC was down by 1.5 per cent, while CSI300 slipped 0.7 per cent
Nearly 80 stocks tumbled the maximum allowed 10 pct on Friday, led by tech firms, in particular small-cap companies
China's tech-heavy start-up board ChinextP dropped 1.9 per cent to a four-month low
"There is a long-term correction in the valuations for those small-cap firms, as they are still overvalued without solid results," said Zhu
Junchun, an analyst with Lianxun Securities
Eyes were on the development of China-US trade spat
The United States has nearly completed a second list of tariffs on $100 billion in Chinese goods, as President Donald Trump prepares to
enact an initial round of duties that are expected to trigger an in-kind response from Beijing, several sources said
While it is not clear when Trump will activate the measures, rising Sino-US trade tensions will put additional pressure on China's economy,
which is starting to show signs of cooling under the weight of a multi-year crackdown on riskier lending
China said on Friday it would respond quickly to protect itself if the United States hurts its interests, as US President Trump gets ready
to unveil revisions to his initial tariff list targeting $50 billion of Chinese goods
"Amid the continued weakness in the A-share market and external uncertainties, there are strong expectations that Beijing could roll out
more supportive policies than just holding fire on rates, including reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cut and fiscal policies to bolster the
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.35 per cent while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.5 per cent
At 07:03 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.4166 per US dollar, 0.25 per cent weaker than the previous close of 6.4005
The largest per centage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Fuda Alloy Materials Co Ltd up 10 per cent, followed by Chongqing
Wanli New Energy Co Ltd gaining 9.98 per cent and Shanxi Coal International Energy Group Co Ltd up by 9.95 per cent
The largest per centage losses in the Shanghai index were Shanghai Chuangli Group Co Ltd down 10.06 per cent, followed by Guangdong Dcenti
Auto-Parts Stock Ltd Co losing 10.05 per cent and Weifang Yaxing Chemical Co Ltd down by 10.05 per cent
So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 8.6 per cent, the CSI300 has fallen 6.9 per cent while China's H-share index listed in
Hong Kong is up 1.6 per cent
Shanghai stocks have declined 2.34 per cent this month
As of 07:04 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 20.76 per cent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares
