Stock markets fall amid ‘Zero Covid’ protests in Chinese cities
Shanghai, China, Nov 28 (EFE).- The Chinese stock markets experienced losses on Monday after a series of protests against the stringent “Zero Covid” policy spread to multiple cities in China, often leading to clashes with the police.
The largest decline among the Chinese markets was recorded by the Hang Seng, or the Hong Kong stock exchange, with a drop of 1.57 percent.
On the mainland, despite the official press maintaining absolute silence on the protests, the Shanghai Stock Exchange lost 0.75 percent, while the one at Shenzhen dropped by 0.69 percent.
The CSI 300, an index that tracks the performance of the 300 main stocks of these two markets, fell 1.13 percent.
Meanwhile, the newly established Beijing stock exchange – focused on SMEs – fell 0.96 percent.
The national currency, or the yuan, also fared badly on Monday with a drop of 0.65 percent against the dollar at 4.30pm local time in onshore markets compared to the last hour on Friday.
Last week, 10 people died as a building under Covid lockdown caught fire in the northwestern city of Urumqi.
The incident led to outrage on social media with many believing that the confinement prevented the victims from escaping.
In recent days, vigils and protests have taken place in many parts of the country, including politically and economically important cities like Beijing or Shanghai, against the harsh Covid measures.
Credit rating agency Moody’s on Monday referred to a possible negative economic impact of the protests if they went on for a long period and resulted in violence and instability, which would erode investor confidence. EFE
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