China stocks fall amid global rate concerns; property jump on Reuters report

Other property firms also rose, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index ending 2.7% higher. ** China is expected to achieve its annual growth target of 5% smoothly, central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said at the Financial Street Forum on Wednesday, state media reported.

China stocks closed down on Wednesday, tracking weaker regional peers on concerns of global rates tightening, while property firms jumped after a Reuters report on China's latest measures to support the debt-laden sector.

** The blue-chip CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both closed 0.2% down. ** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed down 0.6% and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 0.8%.

** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares sank 0.6%, as investors grappled with the possibility of another U.S. interest rate hike while waiting on comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for a steer on the policy outlook. Powell speaks on Wednesday and Thursday. ** Chinese authorities have asked Ping An Insurance Group to take a controlling stake in embattled Country Garden, the nation's biggest private property developer, four people familiar with the plan told Reuters.

** Chinese property stocks rallied and Ping An Insurance Group shares hit a one-year low. A Ping An spokesperson said the company had not been approached by the government and denied the information reported by Reuters. ** Shares in Country Garden closed up 12%, while Evergrande and Sunac jumped roughly 30% each. Other property firms also rose, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index ending 2.7% higher.

** China is expected to achieve its annual growth target of 5% smoothly, central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said at the Financial Street Forum on Wednesday, state media reported. ** China's economic policy shift and the investment opportunities it is creating are drivers for long-term bets in the country by global asset managers, top executives said at a financial summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

** Shares in media firms gained 3%, and healthcare companies rose 1%. ** The Hang Seng tech index lost 0.9%.