BEIJING: China’s stocks and currency sank on Wednesday after Moody’s downgraded its credit rating for the world’s second-largest economy. Other stock markets around the region were buoyed by gains for Wall Street that left the S&P 500 just a few points short of a record high. Moody’s cut China’s credit rating by one notch to A1 from Aa3 and said it expected the country’s “financial strength will erode somewhat over the coming years, with economy-wide debt continuing to rise as potential growth slows”. The news rattled China’s financial markets, with the Shanghai Composite down 1 per cent and facing one of its biggest one-day drops this year, while the technology-focused Shenzhen Composite was down 0.6 per cent, narrowing from a drop of as much as 1.8 per cent. The CSI 300, which includes the top 300 stocks on both exchanges, was down 0.8 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.3 per cent, as index heavyweight Tencent, the Chinese social media giant, fell 2 per cent from a record high. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index, which tracks mainland companies listed in the territory, was off by 0.5 per cent. Japan’s Topix was up 0.4 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2 per cent. Singapore’s Straits Times was up 0.2 per cent. Noble Group, the embattled commodities trader listed on the island state’s exchange, was down 10.7 per cent as it resumed trading after a one-day halt and said talks with potential strategic partners were ongoing.
