SHANGHAI, Jan 27 ― China's CSI 300 blue-chip share index fell today to its lowest in nearly 16 months, as global concern that the US Federal Reserve would move aggressively to cap inflation sparked selling by foreign investors.

The CSI 300 fell as much as 1.64 per cent in morning trade to touch its lowest level since September 30, 2020, and the Shanghai Composite index fell as much as 1.47 per cent. Both indexes later trimmed their losses to fall between 0.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent.

Losses were led by tech shares, with an index tracking the computer sector last down down 3.11 per cent and the CSI Info Tech index down 2.46 per cent.

The drop in A-shares came amid a global pull back in equities after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that inflation remains above the Fed's long-run goal and supply chain issues may be more persistent than previously thought.

Foreign investors were heavy sellers of Chinese shares today, with Refinitiv data showing outflows through the Northbound leg of China's Stock Connect programme nearing 8 billion yuan.― Reuters