China shares pressured by sliding yuan but pull off lows

[HONG KONG] Chinese stocks struggled on Wednesday as the yuan fell to fresh 5-1/2 year lows and investors fled riskier assets on worries over the fallout from Britain's shock decision to leave the European Union.

The blue-chip CSI300 index rose for eighth straight day, gaining 0.3 per cent to 3,216.80. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed for a fourth straight day, rising 0.4 per cent to 3,017.29 points.

Both indexes fell 0.3 per cent in early trade, but buying interest revived later in the session. Consumer stocks rose 3.8 per cent, with resources and healthcare up 1.8 per cent. Banks slid.

Analysts say the market will likely hover around 3,000 points for some time to consolidate gains in the past few weeks.

The yuan fell to its lowest against the dollar since November 2010 earlier on Wednesday, extending its slide to a fifth straight session, after China's central bank sharply weakened its official guidance rate as the dollar surged.

Traders fear the central bank will let the yuan weaken even further to help the country's struggling exporters, but a record 4.5 per cent drop against the dollar last year did little to turn shipments around in the face of stubbornly weak global demand.

REUTERS