SHANGHAI: China and Hong Kong stocks edged lower on Thursday, dragged down by lacklustre performances in property shares, as Beijing left its key benchmark lending rates unchanged despite recent data showing the economy remains wobbly.
China stocks dip as market reform in focus
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China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index was down 0.5% by lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3% to a two-month low. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.5%.
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China left the one-year and five-year loan prime rates (LPR) unchanged at a monthly fixing on Thursday, underscoring that Beijing’s monetary easing efforts continued to be limited by narrowing interest rate margins and a weakening currency.
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The 5-year LPR influences the pricing of mortgages.
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China’s onshore property shares dropped 2.3%.
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Chinese automakers have urged Beijing to hike tariffs on imported European gasoline-powered cars in retaliation for Brussels’ curbs on exports of Chinese-made EVs, the state-backed Global Times newspaper said on Wednesday.
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China’s blue-chip CSI300 index slipped 0.5%, with its financial sector sub-index trading lower by 0.4%, the consumer staples sector down 0.3%, the real estate index slumped 2.3% and the healthcare sub-index was down 1.1%.
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Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 0.5% to 6,557.19, while the Hang Seng Index was also down 0.5% at 18,341.45.
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The smaller Shenzhen index was down 1.3%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index dropped nearly 1%, while Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR50 index was up 1.4%.
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Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.21% while Japan’s Nikkei index was down 0.34%.
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The yuan was quoted at 7.2601 per US dollar, 0.04% weaker than the previous close of 7.2572.
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Technology-related shares in Hong Kong were down 1.4%.
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