China stocks edge up, helped by farming and energy shares as tech drops

Business Recorder reported, citing Reuters, that Chinese stocks edged higher on Tuesday as farming, energy and gold shares offset losses in technology names. By the lunch break the CSI 300 Index had risen 0.1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4%. Both indexes have steadied after a mid-year sell-off erased this year's gains, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.3% amid rising Middle East tensions.

Agriculture-related shares jumped about 4.6% after the central government announced a plan to increase funding for rural revitalisation. Energy stocks also advanced because the Middle East unrest pushed oil prices higher. Separately, Iran menaced the US with economic warfare and asserted it had launched a sophisticated missile at the country.

Gold shares rose as the metal gained ground and the dollar slipped. Schroders portfolio manager James Luke, citing mounting US fiscal pressure, said in a note that the long-term drivers for gold remain intact. Technology shares fell in both markets after Monday's rebound, and in China the steepest losses of roughly 1% each came in computing, cybersecurity, new energy and semiconductor stocks.