China stocks fall as banks, developers drag; Hong Kong slips

China stocks weakened on Thursday, led by banks and developers, weighed down by worries of a global recession from an intensifying U.S.-China trade war and the rising possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

The CSI300 index fell 0.4% to 3,789.12 at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1% to 2,890.29. The U.S. Trade Representative's office on Wednesday reaffirmed President Donald Trump's plans to impose an additional 5% tariff on a list of $300 billion of Chinese imports starting on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will suspend Britain's parliament for more than a month before Brexit, limiting the time opponents have to derail a disorderly Brexit. Bond markets around the world painted a gloomier picture, with yields on 30-year U.S. Treasuries and 10-year German bunds yield both hitting record lows - 1.905% and minus 0.716% on Wednesday.

Leading the decliners was the CSI300 real estate index, which fell 2.2% after a domestic media report that multiple banks were required to tighten real estate development loans from Thursday. Banking stocks also softened following a report that China is considering new rules for the country's small-to-medium financial institutions to reduce risk in the wider economy.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 0.4% to 25,524.26, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 0.6% to 9,918.26. China rotated troops in its People's Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong on Thursday, days before protesters planned to hold a march calling for full democracy for the Chinese-ruled city after three months of sometimes violent demonstrations.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.28% while Japan's Nikkei index was down 0.23%. The yuan was quoted at 7.1669 per U.S. dollar, 0.03% weaker than the previous close of 7.1645.

The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Sumec Corp Ltd, up 10.1%, followed by Ningxia Xinri Hengli Steel Wire Rope Co Ltd, gaining 10.07% and Xinhuanet Co Ltd, up by 10.03%. The largest percentage losers in the Shanghai index were Nanjing OLO Home Furnishing Co Ltd, down 5.99%, followed by Dongfeng Electronic Technology Co Ltd, falling 5.53%, and Beijing Xinwei Technology Group Co Ltd, down 5.08%.

The top gainers among H-shares were China Cinda Asset Management Co Ltd, up 6%, followed by China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd, gaining 5.41%, and ANTA Sports Products Ltd, up by 1.72%. The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were New China Life Insurance Co Ltd, which fell 4.77%, China National Building Material Co Ltd, which lost 3.1% and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd, down 2.9%.

About 10.53 billion shares have been traded so far on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 66.0% of the market's 30-day moving average. The volume traded was 18.31 billion as of the last full trading day. As of 04:17 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 29.76% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

 

Also Read: UPDATE 4-China says protesters like 'terrorists', airport reopens

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)