Apr 19, 2024 at 9:10 am GMT
SHANGHAI,(Reuters) -China and Hong Kong stocks declined on Friday, tracking their regional peers, pressured by reports of an Israeli attack on Iran that sparked rising safe-haven bets.
** The latest developments prompted concerns over a widening of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to include other countries in the Middle East, causing investors to rush to sweep up typical safe-haven assets.
** Initial U.S. news reports late on Thursday said Israel launched missiles at Iran in retaliation for an April 13 attack on Israel that was in response to an alleged Israeli assault that killed Iranian military leaders on April 1. Iranian officials on Friday told Reuters there was no missile attack.
** "It's a big dampener on risk assets, including equities and most currencies," said Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC Bank.
** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index . SSEC was down 0.29% at 3,065.26 points, while the blue-chip CSI 300 was down 0.79%.
** The financial sector .CSI300FS, consumer staples .CSI000912, real estate .CSI000952 and healthcare .CSI300HC fell between 0.44% and 1.55%.
** The smaller Shenzhen index . SZSC ended down 0.73% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index .CNT was weaker by 1.762%.
** The Hang Seng index .HSI closed 161.73 points or 0.99% lower at 16,224.14. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index . HSCE fell 0.99% to 5,746.61.
** Around the region, MSCI 's Asia ex-Japan stock index .MIAPJ0000PUS was weaker by 1.64%, while Japan's Nikkei index .N225 closed down 2.66%.
** The yuan CNY=CFXS was quoted at 7.2409 per U.S. dollar at 08:32 GMT, 0.04% weaker than the previous close of 7.2382.
Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Varun H K
Sumber : Reuters
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