Shares fall on worries over trade tensions
SHANGHAI shares fell yesterday amid weak market sentiment on concerns about trade tensions between China and the US.
The Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.37 percent to close at 2,875.81 points. Shares of telecommunication firms, semiconductor companies and electronic firms were among the biggest decliners.
Guangdong Super Telecom Co tumbled 9.70 percent to 25.97 yuan (US$4), JiLin SinoMicroelectronics Co lost 7.14 percent to 6.11 yuan and Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co fell 6.32 percent to 15.86 yuan.
Investor appetite was weak amid lingering worries over rising China-US trade tensions.
The Ministry of Commerce said yesterday that if the US chooses to impose tariff on Chinese goods and distort the global trading order leading to unfair trade, China will take comprehensive countermeasures to protect the interests of the country and the people.
“In early June, the two countries conducted discussions on agriculture and energy sectors in Beijing. China and the US both agreed to talk further on manufacturing and services industries as well as structural problems. However, the US escalated trade tensions and China has to response,” said Gao Feng, a ministry spokesman.
Gao Ting, head of China Strategy at UBS Securities, pointed out that “Sino-US trade tensions could further escalate” and this “could have a long-term negative impact on production and investment activities.”