Mainland and Hong Kong stocks closed lower on Thursday, as markets reassessed the prospects for a short-term ceasefire following renewed violence in the Middle ⁠East.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended down 140 points, or 0.54 percent, at 25,752.

The China enterprises index was down 65 points, or 0.75 percent, at 8,611 while the tech index was 101 points, or 2.06 percent, lower at 4,821.

Across the border, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended down 28 points, or 0.72 percent, at 3,966.

The Shenzhen Component Index was 46 points, or 0.33 percent, lower at 13,996, with the combined turnover of the two indexes coming in at 2.13 trillion yuan, down from 2.43 trillion yuan on Wednesday.

Declines were seen in tourism, transport and financial stocks while furniture, oil and auto manufacturing sectors moved higher.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was 24 points, or 0.73 percent, at 3,323.

The losses came after Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people and drawing a threat of retaliation from Iran, ⁠which suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed ⁠with talks to ⁠forge a permanent peace deal with the United States.

"The two-week ceasefire is barely a ⁠day old, and it ‌seems there are already cracks forming, even as financial markets remained relatively buoyant," said ‌analysts at MUFG.

Consumer staple and financial shares led declines onshore, ⁠falling 1.4 percent each.

Energy shares rebounded onshore and offshore , up 0.1 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively, as oil prices rose.

Analysts at BOC International saw a rebound and an allocation opportunity in China's non-ferrous metals sector.

Frequent ⁠geopolitical ‌flare-ups have fragmented supply, while rigid resource ‌supply and shifts in the global monetary landscape – seen as weakening the dollar-centric ‌credit system – could jointly catalyse both the industry outlook and the asset's financial appeal, the analysts said.

Investors are awaiting China's ⁠first-quarter inflation print due on Friday to gauge domestic demand.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended the day 413 points, or ⁠0.73 percent, lower at 55,895, snapping a four-session rally. The ⁠broader Topix slipped 33 points, or 0.9 percent, at 3,741.

In Seoul, the benchmark Kospi closed down 94 points, or 1.61 percent, at 5,778. (Reuters & Xinhua)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden