China Shares Fall on Renewed US-Iran Hostilities; Guangdong Songfa Ceramics Up 6%

Chinese shares closed lower on Thursday amid a resurgence in U.S.-Iran hostilities and ahead of the release of China's inflation data. The Shanghai Composite Index, the main gauge of Chinese stocks, closed 0.5% lower to 3,970.88. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 1.9% to 14,939.73. U.S. Central Command said it conducted "powerful" strikes on more than 80 targets following assaults on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, BBC News reported. Iran, which has not directly acknowledged attacking the tankers, said it had hit US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait in reprisal for the American attacks. Also, market participants are looking ahead to Thursday, when China will publish its June consumer and producer price indexes. According to consensus data from Trading Economics, analysts project annual consumer inflation to tick down to 1.1%, compared to May's 1.2% reading. In company news, Guangdong Songfa Ceramics (SHA:603268) forecasted first-half attributable net profit of 3.60 billion yuan, compared with 647.1 million yuan the previous year. Shares of the ceramics maker turned shipbuilder closed 6% higher Wednesday.