SHANGHAI: China stocks ended lower on Thursday, tracking a sell-off in global equities, as Moscow attacked Ukraine with strikes on major cities after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east.

The blue-chip CSI300 index closed 2% lower at 4,529.32, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.7% to 3,429.96.

Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast on Thursday, officials and media said.

China reiterated a call for all parties involved in the situation in Ukraine to exercise restraint and rejected a foreign journalist’s description of Russia’s actions as an invasion.

“Asian stock markets generally recorded significant losses today, and the worsening situation in Ukraine further impacted financial markets,” said Kenny Ng, a securities strategist at China Everbright Securities International.

China will keep the real estate market stable and step up coordination and precision of property policies this year, the country’s housing minister said.

The real estate sub-index eased 1.5%, while the financial sub-index retreated 2%.

Consumer staples slid 2.7%, while information technology stocks dropped 2.2%.