China Stocks fall on geopolitical concerns

The Mainland China share market finished session down on Thursday, 24 March 2022, as risk sentiments dented amid rising Sino-U.S. tensions after Washington sought to deter Beijing from aiding sanctions-hit Russia.

The US said it would "absolutely" enforce export controls if Chinese companies send semiconductors to Russia that were made with U.S. technology.

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

At close of trade, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined by 0.63%, or 20.77 points, to 3,250.26. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, fell 0.87%, or 18.86 points, to 2,144.34. The blue-chip CSI300 index sank 0.59%, or 25.21 points, to 4,251.31.

CURRENCY NEWS: China's yuan was little changed against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after weaker mid-point fixing by central bank. Prior to market opening, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC at 6.364 per dollar prior, weaker than Wednesday's fix of 6.3558. In the spot market, the yuan CNY=CFXS opened at 6.3772 per dollar and weakened to 6.3780 in early trade, but recovered to change hands at 6.3725 late afternon, just 8 pips stronger than Wednesday's late session close.

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