China Stocks tumble on COVID-19 outbreak,geopolitical woes

The Mainland China share market finished session steep lower on Tuesday, 15 March 2022, as risk aversion selloff triggered cross the board as resurgence in COVID-19 cases clouds the country's economic outlook, while the deepening Ukraine crisis boosts geopolitical risks for Beijing.

At close of trade, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index stumbled 4.95%, or 159.57 points, to 3,063.97. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, dropped 4.56%, or 96.09 points, to 2,013.37. The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 4.57%, or 190.95 points, to 3,983.81.

ECONOMIC NEWS: China Industrial Production Logs 7.5% Annual Growth- China's industrial production rose by 7.5% on year in January-February 2022 combined, quickening from a 4.3% gain in the prior period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. The latest figure was the fastest pace since June 2021, as the recovery in the economy gained momentum in the first two months of the year, with both manufacturing and mining output accelerating while utilities production grew further.

China's retail sales rose 6.7% in the January-February period, according to report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

CURRENCY NEWS: China's yuan depreciated near three-month low against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday after softer mid-point fixing by central bank. Prior to market opening, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC at 6.376per dollar, 0.4% weaker than the previous fix of 6.3506. In the spot market, the yuan CNY=CFXS was changing hands at 6.749 around late afternoon, 0.15% weaker from the previous late session close.

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