* SSEC -0.01%, CSI300 -0.28%, HSI -0.37%
* China holds meeting discussing property tax
* Tech shares rebound after sharp sell-off
SHANGHAI, May 12 (Reuters) – China and Hong Kong shares slipped on Wednesday, dragged down by real estate firms after Beijing held a meeting on property tax to curb rampant speculation in the housing market, although tech stocks rebounded from a sharp drop in the previous session. ** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.01% at 3,441.42 and the blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.28%.
** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong rose 0.2% to 10,452.06, while the Hang Seng Index was down 0.37% at 27,910.60.
** Leading the losses, the CSI300’s sub-index for the real estate sector fell 1.45%, while the property sub-index in Hong Kong lost 1.57%.
** China’s regulators solicited opinions from representatives from some cities, experts and scholars on the pilot work of implementing the real estate tax, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its website late on Tuesday. ** The smaller Shenzhen index was unchanged for the day, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.36% and Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR50 index was up 0.17%.
** The tech sub-index in Hong Kong gained 2.18% after a sell-off in previous session. ** Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd rose as much as 4.5%, on track to snap three consecutive sessions of losses, ahead of the announcement of first-quarter earnings.
** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 1.41%, while Japan’s Nikkei index was down 1.91%. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.44 per U.S. dollar, 0.18% weaker than the previous close of 6.4283. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
