China stocks track Asian markets lower on rate concerns

SHANGHAI: China stocks tracked Asian markets lower on Friday as traders scaled back bets for a slew of US rate cuts this year amid a murky inflation outlook.

Denting investor appetite for riskier assets, the dollar hovered near a five-month high alongside US Treasury yields in the wake of hotter-than-expected consumer price data mid-week that forced a paring back of rate cut bets.

China stocks down pressured by real estate; HK shares up

Although data on Thursday showed US producer prices increased only moderately in March.

Market participants are awaiting China’s trade data due later in the day.

China’s exports likely declined in March after they grew at a better-than-expected pace in the first two months of this year, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, highlighting an uneven recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy.

• At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.04% at 3,033.08 points.

• China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.28%, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 0.8%, the consumer staples sector down 0.75%, the real estate index down 2.39% and the healthcare sub-index down 0.47%.

• For the week, China’s CSI300 lost 2.1% so far, set to log its worst week since Feb. 2, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has so far gained 0.5%.

• Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 1.49% to 5,914.24, while the Hang Seng Index was down 1.73% at 16,799.67.

• The smaller Shenzhen index was down 0.36%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.67% and Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR50 index was up 0.5%.

• The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Innovita Biological Technology, down 16.031%, followed by Jiangsu Boqian New Materials Stock with a 10% slump and Dali Pharmaceutical Co Ltd down by 10%.

• The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd, which dropped nearly 5%, Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd with a 4.6% slump and ENN Energy Holdings Ltd, down by 4.55%.

• Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index dipped 0.60%, while Japan’s Nikkei index was up 0.37%.