SHANGHAI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Chinese A-shares closed higher on Monday, boosted by gains in raw materials and energy firms as the worsening Russia-Ukraine conflict boosted commodity prices, and on buying by foreign investors.
** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.32% at 3,462.31, turning around from an earlier drop of as much as 0.75%.
** The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.18% after earlier slipping as much as 0.93%.
** Losses in the financial sector, down 0.31%, and the real estate sector, down 0.85%, were outweighed by strong gains in energy and materials shares.
** The CSI Coal Index jumped 2.72%, the A-share Resources Index gained 2.1%, and the energy sector rose 1.82%.
** Data from China's statistics bureau showed the country's biggest increase in total energy consumption and coal use in a decade in 2021.
** Defence shares gained 1.38% as Chinese investors bet on sectors likely to benefit from the worsening Ukraine conflict.
** Inflows into A-shares through the Stock Connect programme accelerated in the afternoon session, boosting the main indexes.
** Northbound inflows through Stock Connect totalled 7.4 billion yuan ($1.17 billion) on the day, according to Refinitiv data.
** The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 0.19% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.89%.
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.18%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.19%.
** At 0700 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.3111 per U.S. dollar, 0.09% firmer than the previous close of 6.317.
($1 = 6.3107 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
