China stocks fall as banks, developers drag

China stocks closed lower on Thursday, led by declines in banks and developers, due to worries of a global recession from an intensifying U.S.-China trade war and the rising possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.3% to close at 3,790.19, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1% to 2,890.92. 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.

The CSI300 real estate index was the biggest loser, slumping 2.6% after a local media report said 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.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.06%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.09%. At 0716 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 7.1635 per U.S. dollar, 0.01% firmer 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 Xinhuanet Co Ltd, gaining 10.03% and Zhejiang Dehong Automotive Electronic & Electrical Co Ltd, up by 10.02%. The biggest percentage loser in the Shanghai index was Nanjing OLO Home Furnishing Co Ltd down 6.07%, followed by Guangdong Champion Asia Electronics Co Ltd and Tibet Summit Resources Co Ltd losing 5.8% and 5.67%, respectively.

About 17.86 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 111.9% of the market's 30-day moving average of 15.96 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 18.31 billion. As of 0716 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 29.50% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

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