At close of trade, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.55%, or 16.60 points, to 2,982.90. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, dropped 0.64%, or 12.54 points, to 1,945.38. The blue-chip CSI300 index decreased 0.7%, or 25.76 points, to 3,631.14.
China on Thursday reported a third straight day of more than 1,000 new COVID cases nationwide, a modest tally compared with the tens of thousands per day that sent Shanghai into a full-blown lockdown earlier this year but enough to trigger more curbs and restrictions across the country. Cities from Wuhan in central China to Xining in the northwest are doubling down on COVID-19 curbs, sealing up buildings, locking down districts and throwing millions into distress in a scramble to halt widening outbreaks.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Profits of China's major industrial firms slipped 2.3% year on year to 6.24 trillion yuan in the first nine months of 2022 (January-September period), widening the 2.1 percent drop recorded in the first eight months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Thursday.
CURRENCY NEWS: China's yuan softened against the dollar on Thursday despite firmer mid-point fixing by central bank. Prior to the market opening on Thursday, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC at 7.1570 per dollar, 68 pips firmer than the previous fix 7.1638. The onshore yuan CNY=CFXS opened at 7.1632 per dollar and strengthened to a high of 7.16 at one point, the strongest level since Oct. 18. But by midday, it was changing hands at 7.2165, 455 pips or 0.6% weaker than the previous late session close.
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