<div id="readability-page-1"><div> Chinese stocks extended losses on Thursday, pausing a blistering start to the year, after regulators moved to rein in speculative trading. ** The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.3% at 4,112.60, marking its third consecutive session of losses and pulling further back. ** The blue-chip CSI 300 Index edged up 0.2% after swinging between gains and losses throughout the day. ** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index declined 0.3% to 26,923.62, and the tech index dipped 1.4%. ** The declines have paused a stellar year-start rally, as regulators tightened margin requirements on Wednesday in a surprise move to cool a red-hot stock market that saw turnover and leverage bets hitting records. ** &#34;We may see some near-term volatility, especially in the tech- and innovation-heavy sectors where we see the most margin financing growth,&#34; analysts at Morgan Stanley said.** However, the impact should be temporary and manageable, and regulators' commitment to a &#34;slow-bull&#34; should &#34;tame the market without causing a material impact on market liquidity,&#34; they added. ** Leading market losses on Thursday, the CSI Satellite Industry Index (.CSI931594) tumbled 7.6% after several commercial aerospace concept stocks warned of excessive trading risks. ** The defence sector (.CSI399959) lost 3.5%, ranking among other major laggards, ** The CSI Semiconductor Index (.CSI931865) rallied 3.7% and AI-related shares recouped earlier losses, after TSMC posted a record profit that blew past market forecasts and predicted more robust growth this year.** In Hong Kong, shares of Trip.com tumbled as much as 21.7% after regulators opened an antitrust investigation into the company. ** &#34;We are still uncertain whether this is an isolated issue but believe there is likely more government oversight on the issue, similar to its actions in the past,&#34; said Kai Wang, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar. ** He added that there could be a possibility that Trip.com could incur a hefty fine from the investigation. </div></div>

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Chinese stocks fell for the third consecutive day as regulators tightened margin requirements to curb speculative trading. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.3%, while the Hang Seng Index also declined by 0.3%. Analysts expect near-term volatility, particularly in tech sectors, but believe the impact will be manageable. The CSI Satellite Industry Index plummeted 7.6% due to warnings of excessive trading risks. In Hong Kong, Trip.com shares fell 21.7% amid an antitrust investigation, raising concerns about potential government oversight and fines.

Chinese stocks decline for third day after regulators move to cool rally