Chinese stocks slide as investors maintain caution after US inflation report
abcnews.go.comChina stocks slide after the overnight United States inflation report
HONG KONG — China stocks were lower Wednesday after the overnight United States inflation report that signaled a diminished possibility of the Fed's rate cut made investors cautious.
Hong Kong stocks edged less than 0.1% lower at 17,082.11, ending its three consecutive days of gain. Hang Seng Tech Index advanced 0.4%, with JD.com gaining 0.3% after the company announced a share buyback of as much as $3 billion over the next three years.
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.4% to 3,043.83, and the smaller market in Shenzhen also shed 0.3%.
The overnight report on U.S. inflation subdued investor optimism, with the data showing that consumers paid prices in February that were a bit higher than expected, making it less likely that the Federal Reserve could deliver long-sought cuts to interest rates at its meeting next week.
China’s local media reported Tuesday that the country’s state-owned banks may raise up to 80 billion yuan ($11.2 billion) in syndicated loans to assist the property developer China Vanke in meeting its impending repayment deadlines.
Vanke was the second-largest developer in the nation based on market value, and has followed the path of Evergrande and Country Garden, both of which have already defaulted on their debts. In January, a Hong Kong court ordered Evergrande to undergo liquidation following a failed effort to restructure $300 billion owed to banks and bondholders.
The rating agency Moody downgraded Vanke’s credit rating to “junk” status on Monday.
Vanke stocks surged after the news of the potential financial support while experiencing a 3.7% pullback Wednesday. On Tuesday, its shares listed in Hong Kong closed 10.3% higher,
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