China stocks steady amid Iran war uncertainty

China stocks traded steady on Tuesday as markets remain focused on the war in the Middle East and high oil prices, whose impact on China has so far been relatively limited.

The Hong Kong market is closed for a public holiday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC was flat by the lunch break, while the blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 dipped 0.3%.

Investors coming back from the Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday are closely monitoring developments in the Middle East as the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on a resolution to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Iran have been trading verbal barbs as President Donald Trump reiterated threats to strike Iran unless Tehran makes a deal by Tuesday night.

"In the short term, the Iran war continues to dominate global assets pricing," Ping An Securities said in a report. "In the mid- to long-term, the safe-haven nature of Chinese assets is expected to shine amid geopolitical upheavals."

The war in the Middle East will lead to higher inflation and slower global growth, the head of the International Monetary Fund told Reuters on Monday.

Goldman Sachs said its most recent weekly tracking shows "limited impact from higher energy prices so far" on China's economic activity.

Energy-related shares .CSI000908.CSIEN gained as Chinese President Xi Jinping called for accelerated planning and construction of a new energy system to safeguard the country's energy security.

China's chipmaking stocks .CSI932087 jumped as investors bet on stronger policy support from Beijing after a cross-party group of U.S. politicians proposed a law to impose further restrictions on exports of computer chipmaking equipment to China.

Shares of Chinese carmakers .CSI931008 fell after three Democratic senators on Friday urged Trump to bar Chinese automakers from building vehicles in the United States and to prevent Chinese cars assembled in Mexico or Canada from entering the United States.

-Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar/Reuters