China shares fall on economic fears despite unexpected interest rate cut

China stocks tumbled on Monday amid growth concerns after data showed the country’s economic activity and credit expansion slowed sharply in July, even as the central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to support the economy hit by Covid-19.

The CSI300 index, which brings together the largest companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, closed down 0.1%, while the Shanghai index was practically stable.

Some growth-oriented stocks, however, advanced in the face of lower borrowing rates, with the renewable energy sub-index rising more than 3%.

The People’s Bank of China on Monday slashed the one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate to 2.75% from 2.85%, while the reverse repo rate of seven days was cut to 2% from 2.1%.

“The 10 basis point cut in the MLF rate today was a totally unexpected move,” said Kaiwen Wang, China strategist at Clocktower Group.

“The move reflects that officials were shocked by the July credit data as well as a wide-ranging slowdown in economic activities.”

  • In TOKYO, the Nikkei index rose 1.14% to 28,871 points.
  • In HONG KONG, the HANG SENG index fell 0.67% to 20,040 points.
  • In SHANGHAI, the SSEC index lost 0.02% to 3,276 points.
  • The CSI300 index, which brings together the largest companies listed in SHANGHAI and SHENZHEN, dropped 0.13% to 4,185 points.
  • In SEOUL, the KOSPI index appreciated by 0.16%, at 2,527 points.
  • In TAIWAN, the TAIEX index rose 0.84% ​​to 15,417 points.
  • In SINGAPORE, the STRAITS TIMES index fell by 0.38% to 3,256 points.
  • On SYDNEY, the S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.45% to 7,064 points.

Source: CNN Brasil

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