Chinese stock markets suffer steep falls amid Covid surge, Ukraine war
Shanghai, China, Mar 15 (EFE).- China’s stock markets have been a sea of red since the beginning of March, as the country faces its worst coronavirus outbreak in two years and uncertainty created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine that entered its 20th day on Tuesday.
China’s three main stock exchanges — Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong — have suffered double-digit declines since March 1.
So far, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has tumbled 12.18%, while Shenzhen dropped by 13.75%. The CSI 300 index of the most important companies from mainland China was also down 13.77%.
However, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was the one with the most losses, slipping 19.1%.
As the war in Ukraine continues to rage, global investors fear the impact of surging prices of oil, as well as key industrial metals.
In addition, China has been battling the worst wave of coronavirus infections since the pandemic began.
In Hong Kong, 4,066 out of the 4,279 Covid-linked deaths registered in more than two years have taken place since December 31.
No fatalities were recorded in mainland China since January last year, but concerns of a resurgence in cases are currently growing.
Some 3,507 new infections were recorded in the past 24 hours, almost seven times higher than last week’s figure.
Authorities are already responding to local outbreaks. The Chinese economic powerhouses of Shenzhen and Changchun are currently under lockdown.
In Shenzhen, Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, had to halt production.
In Changchun, the capital of Jilin province, carmakers Toyota and Volkswagen, and FAW group temporarily suspended operations.EFE
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