Share prices dip under COVID-19 pressure

Chinese stocks dipped slightly on Thursday with market confidence and product demand still under pressure from the COVID-19 outbreak, especially overseas.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.60 percent to 2,764.91 points. The Shenzhen Component Index was down 0.84 percent to 10,155.36 points.

Trading volume on the two bourses was 642.5 billion yuan, a decrease from 751.3 billion yuan on Wednesday.

The GEM (China Growth Enterprise Market) index dropped 0.55 percent to 1,927.28 points, with data center and semiconductor shares slipping. But the GEM market grew over 3 percent on Wednesday, which is in normal fluctuations, according to analysts.

Agriculture and medical firms advanced on Thursday while shares in industries from technology and automotive to finance decreased.

Foreign countries are importing medical devices, especially ventilators, from Chinese vendors, boosting their share prices.

In the long term, industries relying on global supply chains such as automotive, electronics and semiconductor will be influenced by the COVID-19 outbreak. Industries focusing on domestic markets such as food and securities will be less influenced, Haitong Securities said.