BEIJING: China’s stocks declined, with the benchmark index heading for its longest weekly losing streak since May, on concern a monetary slowdown is deepening and new share sales will draw capital from existing shares.
Huadian Power International Corp. tumbled 4.3 percent in Shanghai to lead a gauge of utilities lower. Inner Mongolian Baotou Steel Union Co. paced declines by commodity producers. A property index slid 1.8 percent as Poly Real Estate Group Co. retreated. Great Wall Motor Co. rose 6.7 percent after vehicle sales jumped 26.5 percent in January from a year earlier.
The Shanghai Composite Index decreased 1.1 percent to 3,100.88 at the 11:30 a.m. break, taking this week’s loss to 3.4 percent, after manufacturing and services gauges signaled a worsening outlook for the economy and as 24 companies prepared to sell shares in initial public offerings. Chinese markets will be closed for Lunar New Year holidays for a week from Feb. 18.
“There is no obvious catalyst for short-term performance before the holiday period,” said Gerry Alfonso, a China equity sales and trading director at Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co. in Shanghai. “Economic fundamentals haven’t changed” following a reserve-ratio requirement cut.
Stocks failed to sustain gains yesterday following an across-the-board cut in banks’ reserve-ratio. The reduction isn’t the start of strong stimulus for the economy, a senior official at the central bank told Xinhua News Agency.
The CSI 300 dropped 0.9 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Enterprises Index lost 0.6 percent, while the Hang Seng Index fell 0.3 percent. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index, the measure of the most-traded U.S.-listed Chinese companies, slipped 0.2 percen
