China markets rise as upbeat holiday travel data boosts tourism stocks; Hong Kong shares fall

Stock markets in China rose as traders returned from a long holiday on Monday to upbeat travel data, while Hong Kong stocks fell.

The CSI 300 added 0.3% as trading resumed following the Lunar New Year holidays that saw consumer spending jump higher than pre-Covid levels, according to official data. Tourism stocks led the gains, jumping 2% shortly after the open.

The People’s Bank of China on Sunday held a key policy rate steady as expected, as markets reassess when the U.S. Federal Reserve might start easing its monetary policy this year.

China’s central bank said it was holding the rate unchanged at 2.5% on 500 billion yuan ($69.51 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, reportedly, told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the United States must lift restrictions on Chinese firms and individuals, and attempts to de-couple from Beijing would only hurt Washington.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.8%, while the Hang Seng Tech index shed 2.2% by open.

Japan’s Nikkei 225, which had come within a striking distance of a record high on Friday, fell 0.4%, while the broader Topix was flat.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.9%, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq rose 0.3%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 inched 0.2% higher.

U.S. markets were closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

Wall Street’s main indexes slid Friday after a hot inflation report sparked fears that interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve may not arrive until later than expected this year.

The S&P 500 fell 0.48%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.37% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.82%.

— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Pia Singh contributed to this report