China's main stock indexes closed near flat on Tuesday as investors waited for more clarity on the trade situation after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, has stepped up investigations into imports of semiconductor chips.
The CSI300 index rose 0.06% and the SSEC index in Shanghai advanced 0.15% after both traded in a narrow range during the day.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed up 0.23% after swinging between gains and losses during the session.
US-China tensions rattle chip stocks
The Trump administration has stepped up its investigations into semiconductor imports, citing national security concerns. The administration recently exempted some Chinese technology products from steep tariffs. But officials say those items will soon be subject to a new set of levies.
The ongoing uncertainty surrounding US-China trade has weighed on chip stocks in both onshore and offshore markets. The CSI electronics sub-index fell 1.1%, giving back much of Monday’s gains, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.7%, dragged down by a sharp 4.5% drop in chipmaker SMIC. According to Yan Wang, chief China and emerging markets strategist at Alpine Macro, “the US-China tariff situation is highly fluid, with changes occurring almost hourly.” He added that given the near-term uncertainty, there is no reason to be aggressively risk-on in Chinese stocks.
The main Asian stock markets ended the session higher on Tuesday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei rose 0.84%, reaching 34,267 points, while the Hang Seng, in Hong Kong, had a slight gain of 0.23%, to 21,466 points. In Shanghai, the SSEC advanced 0.15%, reaching 3,267 points, and the CSI300, which covers the largest companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, registered a positive variation of 0.06%, to 3,761 points. The Seoul market also performed favorably, with the Kospi rising 0.88%, to 2,477 points. In Taiwan, the Taiex had the biggest rise in the region, with an advance of 1.77%, totaling 19,857 points. In Singapore, the Straits Times rose 2.14% to 3,624 points. Finally, in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 closed slightly higher by 0.17% to 7,761 points.
Source: Jiaxing Li | Notícias Agrícolas
