SHANGHAI, March 21 (Reuters) - China's blue-chip shares declined on Monday, as the central bank's move to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged amid rising domestic coronavirus cases disappointed investors.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.2% to 4,258.75. However, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1% to 3,253.69 points.
** The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was held at 3.70%, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.60%.
** Rate-sensitive financials firms and real estate developers closed down 1.6% and 2.4%, respectively
** "Many global investors' faith in long-term investment in China is shaking," said Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China.
** The government has to revive investor confidence by finalising the crackdown on internet companies, easing monetary policy and implementing an effective method to combat the resurgent COVID-19 outbreaks, added Wang.
** China's financial hub of Shanghai reported on Monday a record daily surge in local COVID-19 infections as authorities scrambled to test residents and rein in the Omicron variant.
** That weighed on transport stocks, which lost 1.4%.
** Mainland China reported 2,027 confirmed coronavirus cases for March 20, the country's national health authority said on Monday, compared with 1,737 a day earlier.
** Bucking the trend, shares in healthcare, non-ferrous metal and coal sectors ended up between 2% and 3%.
* China stocks rebounded sharply from their 21-month lows last Wednesday after Vice Premier Liu He, at a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Committee, said Beijing would roll out support for the Chinese economy.
** "The pressure on the onshore market cannot be easily dissipated by one meeting or a phone call," Hao Hong, head of research at BOCOM International, wrote in a note. "We continue to believe a second low is likely, if history is a guide."
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; editing by Uttaresh.V and Amy Caren Daniel)
