China shares end lower as chipmakers drag; post weekly gain

China shares closed lower on Friday as the country’s top chipmaker SMIC dragged semiconductor stocks.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.6 per cent to 4,945.98, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2 per cent to 3,516.30. For the week, the SSEC rose 1.68 per cent, while the CSI300 edged up 0.5 per cent.

Chipmakers led the drop in China stocks, with the semiconductor sub-index falling 4.1 per cent. The index has gained around 29 per cent so far this year.

SMIC slumped 6per cent after the Shanghai Stock Exchange said on Thursday it would remove the company from an index of eligible Shanghai stocks under the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

The stock plunged 13.5 per cent so far this week, on track for the biggest weekly pct decline since mid-September in 2020. Resources stocks, including steel and coal, resumed gains. The steel sub-index and the coal sub-index both gained 0.6 per cent.

The liquor sub-index was up 0.8 per cent. Chinese battery giant CATL ended flat at 502 yuan per share, after having surged as much as 5.6per cent in morning trading.

CATL said late on Thursday it was planning a private share placement to raise up to 58.2 billion yuan ($8.98 billion) to fund six projects aimed at boosting its production capacity of lithium-ion batteries.