China stocks end lower as hawkish Fed, geopolitical concerns weigh

SHANGHAI - China stocks closed lower on Thursday on worries about aggressive rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, with sentiment dented by Sino-U.S. concerns after Washington sought to deter Beijing from aiding sanctions-hit Russia.

The blue-chip CSI300 index ended 0.6% lower at 4,251.31, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6% to 3,250.26 points.

** U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday signalled they stand ready to take more aggressive action to bring down unacceptably high inflation, including a possible half-percentage-point interest rate hike at the next policy meeting in May.


** The Biden administration on Wednesday warned Beijing not to take advantage of business opportunities created by sanctions, help Moscow evade export controls or process its banned financial transactions.

** The United States will "absolutely" enforce export controls if Chinese companies send semiconductors to Russia that were made with U.S technology, a move that could "essentially shut them down."

** "Uncertainties like the Ukraine crisis and a hawkish Fed have not been eliminated, although China's policy has reversed a downtrend in the market, the (rebound) process would be bumpy," said Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund Management Co.

** Chinese stocks rebounded from 21-month lows last week after the country's top policymaker pledged to support the domestic economy and financial markets, while market participants are awaiting supportive measures to materialize.

** Surging COVID-19 cases continued to dent investor sentiment. China reported 2,054 new confirmed coronavirus cases on March 23, down from 2,667 a day earlier.

** Shares in real estate, consumer staples , tourism and new energy went down roughly 1.5% each.

** Information technology and semiconductor stocks both lost more than 2%.