China stocks down at close after Beijing keeps benchmark rates unchanged

China stocks down: China and Hong Kong stocks ended lower on Thursday, dragged down by lacklustre performance in property shares, as Beijing left its key benchmark lending rates unchanged despite recent data showing the economy remains wobbly.

China's blue-chip closed down by 0.7, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 per cent to a two-month low. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.6 per cent.

China left the one-year and five-year loan prime rates (LPR) unchanged at a monthly fixing on Thursday, underscoring that Beijing's monetary easing efforts continued to be limited by narrowing interest rate margins and a weakening currency.

The 5-year LPR influences the pricing of mortgages. Property shares traded in China and Hong Kong dropped 2.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively. Chinese automakers have urged Beijing to hike tariffs on imported European gasoline-powered cars in retaliation for Brussels' curbs on exports of Chinese-made EVs, the state-backed Global Times newspaper said on Wednesday.

The blue-chip index was down 0.72 per cent, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 0.7 per cent, the consumer staples sector down 0.68 per cent, the real estate index down 2.88 per cent and the healthcare sub-index easing 1.47 per cent. The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 1.88 per cent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 1.442 per cent.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.07 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.16 per cent. At 07:47, the yuan was quoted at 7.2602 per US dollar, 0.04 per cent weaker than the previous close of 7.2572.

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 95.07 points or 0.52 per cent at 18,335.32. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.48 per cent to 6,556.1. The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 2.2 per cent, while the IT sector dipped 1.13 per cent, the financial sector ended 0.28 per cent lower and the property sector fell 1.81 per cent.

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