SHANGHAI: Chinese blue chips closed marginally lower in choppy trade on Tuesday, as investors weighed hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, while waiting for domestic policymakers to follow through on easing measures.

** At the close, the CSI300 index was 0.08% lower at 4,255.30, having swung between small gains and losses throughout the day.

** The Shanghai Composite Index finished 0.18% higher at 3,259.86.

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** China will give nearly 1 trillion yuan ($157 billion) in tax rebates to domestic small firms to shore up economic stability, state media CCTV quoted a cabinet meeting as saying on Monday.

** The meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, also said China would take targeted measures to boost market confidence and keep capital market development stable and healthy.

** Weighing on investor sentiment, Powell on Monday flagged a more aggressive tightening of monetary policy than previously anticipated, while peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were marked by slow progress.

** Shanghai-listed shares of China Eastern Airlines closed 6.15% lower, while those in Hong Kong were down 3.6%, after a Boeing 737-800 operated by the company with 132 people on board crashed in southern China on Monday.

** The crash also sent tourism stocks down by 1.83%. The sector has already been hit by surging domestic COVID-19 cases.

** Mainland China reported 2,338 confirmed coronavirus cases for March 21, compared with 2,027 a day earlier.

** The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 0.61% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 1.392%.

** However, financials climbed 1.5% and real estate developers jumped 3.89% even as China Evergrande Group said it would not be able to publish its financial results for last year by March 31 as required by stock listing rules.

** Around 0700 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.3638 per US dollar, 0.11% weaker than the previous close of 6.3568.