Chinese shares dip midday after MSCI announcement

Chinese shares ended the morning session lower Tuesday after global index provider MSCI released the final list of A-shares to be partially included in its widely tracked indexes starting June.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went down 0.22 percent to end at 3,167.16 points while the Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.18 percent to end at 10,652.56 points.

Some bluechip stocks, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank, ended flat at midday after opening slightly higher.

The two stocks are among the most valued large-cap shares in the inclusion list released by MSCI.

As the first step of the inclusion, 234 Chinese A-shares will be added to the MSCI China Index as well as related global and regional composite indexes as of the close of May 31, 2018, the index provider said Monday.

The shares will be added at 2.5 percent of their Foreign Inclusion Factor adjusted market capitalization, representing aggregate weights of 1.26 percent and 0.39 percent, respectively, in the MSCI China Index and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, according to MSCI.

The list consists mostly bluechip stocks, with the majority of companies in the financial, consumer, and medical sectors.

The inclusion will help China's financial market open wider to the world, with inflows of foreign investment expected, analysts said.

Foreign investors have already begun increasing their holdings of Chinese stocks ahead of the inclusion.

Data showed that overseas investors have been adding positions of A-shares via the stock connect programs, with inflows of funds from Hong Kong to the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, Xinhua-run Shanghai Securities News reported.

According to Li Shaojun, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities, the inclusion will boost market liquidity and sentiment in the short term. In the long run, it will help China's capital market to better interact with global markets.