Asia
China Shares Plunge on Liquidity Fears, Middle East Hostilities; Dongguan Dingtong Precision Metal Falls 20%
Chinese equity markets saw a broad sell-off on Friday, as investors sold off riskier assets amid domestic liquidity concerns and geopolitical uncertainty.The Shanghai Composite Index, the main gauge of Chinese stocks, closed nearly 3.1% lower to 3,764.15. The Shenzhen Component Index plunged 5.4% to 13,706.88.The slump was fueled by mounting concerns that the $8.6 billion initial public offering of memory chipmaker CXMT, set for July 27, could drain liquidity from the market, particularly hurting technology stocks, The Economic Times reported.The SSE STAR 50 Index (SHA:000688), the benchmark for the 50 largest science and technology companies on the Shanghai bourse, plunged 7%.Investor sentiment was further dampened by escalating Middle East conflicts, which kept crude oil prices elevated and stoked fears that energy-driven inflation could delay or reverse major central banks' rate-cut trajectories.The risk-off mood intensified after the U.S. launched fresh strikes against Iran on Thursday night to "further degrade Iranian military capabilities." Iran's foreign ministry condemned the attacks as "war crimes," accusing the U.S. of targeting civilian infrastructure.In company news, Dongguan Dingtong Precision Metal (SHA:688668) forecasted that its net profit attributable to owners for the first half to jump 60% to 184.7 million yuan from 115.4 million yuan a year earlier. Shares of the communication connector manufacturer plummeted 20% Friday.
Shanghai Composite^SZSESHA:688668
