Stock indexes diverge as newly listed shares take tumble

Chinese mainland stock indexes were all over the place Tuesday, with the benchmark declining for a second straight day.

The CSI 300 Index rose 0.38 percent to 3,424.19 points.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.45 percent to 3,061.95 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index fell 1.37 percent to 9,763.78 points.

The tech- heavy start- up board ChiNext plunged 1.67 percent, poised for its fourth straight session of losses as a correction in newly listed stocks put small caps under pressure.

Over the past two months investors have been grappling with a regulatory crackdown on risky lending practices and a shift toward stricter policy as China stepped up measures to defuse financial risks.

Bank and consumer stocks led the gains in the morning, while infrastructure shares were the biggest drag on the market.

“Investors are expected to be cautious for now as the possibly peaking economic growth in the first quarter [ of 2017] could weigh on the profitability of listed companies,” said Liu Qihao, analyst with Shanghai Securities.

The pace of IPOs could also dampen risk appetite for small caps on ex- pectations of more equity supply, Liu noted.

In Hong Kong, stocks inched up to a fresh 22- month high on the back of mainland money inflows via two cross- border investment schemes.

The Hang Seng index climbed 0.05 percent to close at 25,403.15 points.

Data from brokerage Jefferies Hong Kong showed Chinese investors spent net HK$ 12 billion ($ 1.54 billion) buying Hong Kong stocks last week via the Shenzhen- Hong Kong Stock Connect, marking the biggest inflow so far in 2017, and the 22nd week of net buying.