Due to the technological crisis in Hong Kong, consumers are pulling financially on Chinese stocks

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SHANGHAI – China’s share price fell on Thursday as the weight of disappointing economic prospects weighed, while Hong Kong’s benchmark index Wall Street tracked sales sharply after the indicator Heavyweight Tencent reported disappointing results.

** At noon, China’s blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.25% to 3,981.75 points, narrowing previous losses. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.08% to 3,083.39 points.

** The CSI300 financial sector sub-index declined 0.34%, the consumer main sector fell 1.15%, and the healthcare sub-index declined 0.77%.

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** Consumer firms have been plagued by a dark economic outlook due to strict zero-COVID rules, raising doubts about how much the country will contribute to world trade and investment in the future.

** Hong Kong-listed Chinese H-shares fell 2.28% to 6,927.44, while the Hang Seng Index fell 2.25% to 20,179.30.

** Technology companies led losses in Hong Kong, with the Hang Seng Tech index down 3.4% at noon and Tencent Holdings down 6.62%.

** Tencent, which has been hit by a regulatory crackdown on major Internet companies, said on Wednesday that its quarterly profits had halved from a year earlier and revenue had stagnated.

** The smaller Shenzhen index was flat, the start-up board Chinext Composite index was 0.12% weaker, and Shanghai’s technology-focused STAR50 index was up 1.51%.

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** Offering some hope for investors, Shanghai authorities on Thursday announced further plans to exit the lockdown.

** The easing of Covid restrictions is a potential catalyst for foreign interest in A-shares, says Andy Maynard, equity chief at China Renaissance in Hong Kong.

** “What could be worse than a price that is not already on the market?” He said.

** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 15.3% and the CSI300 is down 19.4%, while Hong Kong-listed China’s H-shares index is down 15.9%.

** Foreign investors were net buyers of A-shares on Thursday, with more than 2.7 billion yuan ($ 399.54 million) flowing through Refinitiv Data Stock Connect.

($ 1 = 6.7578 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith)