China stocks fall on liquidity stress

A man cycles past in front of an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo. AP Photo/Koji Sasahara.

A man cycles past in front of an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo. AP Photo/Koji Sasahara.

Published Dec 20, 2016

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Shanghai - China stocks fell on Tuesday

morning as Beijing's move to tighten supervision of shadow

banking activities and persistent liquidity concerns restrained

risk appetite.

Hong Kong stocks also lost ground, as Wall Street strength

was eclipsed by weakness in mainland companies listed in Hong

Kong.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.6 percent, to

3,310.63 points at the end of the morning session, while the

Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6 percent, to 3 310.63

points.

The benchmark Hang Seng index dropped 0.3 percent, to

21,768.52 points, after hitting a four-and-a-half-month low on Monday.

The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index, which tracks

Hong Kong-listed Chinese firms, lost 0.7 percent, to 9,313.70

points, in line with mainland peers.

China's central bank said on late Monday it would tighten

supervision of shadow banking businesses by including

off-balance sheet wealth management products (WMPs), widely

viewed as a source of financial risk, into its risk-assessment

framework next year.

The move represents another step by Beijing to rein in

speculative credit growth in an effort to prevent asset price

bubbles.

Risk appetite was also curbed by persistent weakness in the

bond market. The price of China's 10-year treasury futures for

March delivery touched a record intraday low on Tuesday.

Nearly all sectors lost ground in China, with property

and energy stocks leading the decline,

both down more than 1.3 percent.

"The markets were suffering short-term weakness due to

supervisors' tightening of the financial system", said Guodu

Securities analysts Xiao Shijun.

He said Beijing's signal to keep monetary policy "neutral"

next year, top leaders' resolution to curb asset bubbles, and

the central bank's move to tighten the grip on shadow banking

businesses have all combined to sideline investors.

"Although Beijing has been working on deleveraging over the

past year, they have suddenly escalated their efforts recently,

putting the market under pressure," he said.

In Hong Kong, sector performance was mixed, with gains in

telecommunication stocks cancelled out by losses in

financial stocks, even as Wall Street strength

overnight offered some support.

REUTERS

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