May 20, 2026, 15:27 GMT+7
Updates to market close
(Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks ended lower onWednesday, tracking broad declines across Asia on prolonged MiddleEast tensions and inflation concerns.
** China's blue-chip CSI300 Index closed 0.04% lower, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2%.Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Sengwas down 0.6%.
** The CSI New Energy Index rose 1.1%as stalled U.S.-Iran talks kept oil prices elevated.
** President Donald Trump said the United States may need to strike Iran again but suggested Iran wants a deal to end the war that has roiled markets and sent energy prices soaring.
** Semiconductor sharesrallied 4.6%, helping trim benchmark losses,with Hua Hong Semiconductor surging 19% after Yangtze Memory Technologies, the country's top flashmemory chip maker, submitted its IPO tutoringregistration report, marking the official start of its onshore listing process.
** Onshore financial and property shares fell 0.9%and 2%, respectively.
** Tech majors listed in Hong Kong were up 0.3%, but are still down 12% this year.
** On the policy front, China left benchmark lending rates unchanged for the 12th consecutive month in May on Wednesday, in line with market expectations.
** First-quarter 2026 earnings from internet giants reported over the past week have bolstered confidence in a valuation re-rating for the MSCI China Index, prompting an upgrade of the consumer discretionary sector to "neutral" from "underweight", JP Morgan said in a note. The investment bank also reiterated its positiveview on China's AI sector.
 Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar and Sonia Cheema 

Sumber : Reuters