BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 19 (Reuters) - Chinese equities dropped on Friday, after a rise in global bond yields prompted selling in high-priced consumer and material stocks as risk sentiment soured.
At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was down 1.04% at 3,426.91 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index was down 1.9%.
The consumer staples sector fell 2.44%, the real estate index dropped 2.48% and the materials subindex declined 2.46%.
Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 1.71% to 11,274.59, while the Hang Seng Index was down 1.55% at 28,950.83.
Yields on U.S. 10-year notes spiked to the highest since early 2020 overnight, dragging down global and Asian equity markets as richly priced tech stocks declined.
Market sentiment was dented further after China and the United States kicked off a rough bilateral conversation in Alaska on Thursday, with both sides making rare public rebukes
The smaller Shenzhen index was down 1.22%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 2.12% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index was down 0.15%.
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 1.42% while Japan's Nikkei index was down 1.70%.