China stocks track Asian markets lower on rate concerns

China Mengniu Dairy

12/04/2024 06:04

SHANGHAI, April 12 (Reuters) - China stocks tracked
Asian markets lower on Friday as traders scaled back bets for a
slew of U.S. rate cuts this year amid a murky inflation outlook.
    Denting investor appetite for riskier assets, the dollar
hovered near a five-month high alongside U.S. Treasury yields in
the wake of hotter-than-expected consumer price data mid-week
that forced a paring back of rate cut bets. Although data on
Thursday showed U.S. producer prices increased only moderately
in March.  
    Market participants are awaiting China's trade data due
later in the day.
    China's exports likely declined in March after they grew at
a better-than-expected pace in the first two months of this
year, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, highlighting an uneven
recovery in the world's second-biggest economy.
    ** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC 
was down 0.04% at 3,033.08 points. 
    ** China's blue-chip CSI300 index  .CSI300  was down 0.28%,
with its financial sector sub-index  .CSI300FS  lower by 0.8%,
the consumer staples sector  .CSI000912  down 0.75%, the real
estate index  .CSI000952  down 2.39% and the healthcare
sub-index  .CSI300HC  down 0.47%.
    ** For the week, China's CSI300 lost 2.1% so far, set to log
its worst week since Feb. 2, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng has so
far gained 0.5%.
    ** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong  .HSCE  fell 1.49%
to 5,914.24, while the Hang Seng Index  .HSI  was down 1.73% at 
16,799.67. 
    ** The smaller Shenzhen index  .SZSC  was down 0.36%, the
start-up board ChiNext Composite index  .CNT  was weaker by
0.67% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index  .STAR50  was up
0.5%​.
    ** The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were
Innovita Biological Technology  688253.SS , down 16.031%,
followed by Jiangsu Boqian New Materials Stock  605376.SS  with
a 10% slump and Dali Pharmaceutical Co Ltd  603963.SS  down by
10%.
    ** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were
China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd  2319.HK , which dropped nearly 5%,
Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd  2318.HK  with a 4.6%
slump and ENN Energy Holdings Ltd  2688.HK , down by 4.55%.
    ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  dipped 0.60%, while Japan's Nikkei index  .N225 
was up 0.37%.
 

 (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
 ((Jason.Xue@thomsonreuters.com;))