Mainland stocks take a breather after rebound

Chinese mainland stocks reversed early losses and ended higher on Tuesday after a strong rebound in the previous session, despite trade war concerns.

The blue-chip CSI300 index closed up 0.24 percent to 3,467.52 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.44 percent to end at 2,827.63 points.

Energy stocks were among the best performers.

Meanwhile, agriculture and consumer shares led the losses, with a sub-index tracking sugar firms suffering the most at an average loss of 1.20 percent.

Major Chinese ports started clearing goods from the US on Monday, according to three sources, as new tariffs on US imports, including agriculture goods, seafood and vehicles, went into effect on Friday.

“The direct impact from the tariffs on $50 billion worth of goods each will be controllable, though [the] China-US trade spat regarding industry upgrades could further escalate rather than cool, as the core intention of the US is to contain China’s economic transformation and upgrading, and to protect its own edge,” domestic brokerage Bohai Securities wrote in a note.

Amid a deleveraging campaign and economic uncertainty triggered by the evolving trade war, China’s financial regulator has told banks to “significantly cut” lending rates for small firms in the third quarter compared to the first quarter.