Hong Kong stocks on Monday suffered their biggest percentage decline in four months, as worries over China’s new rules to curb margin trading and boost short-selling offset the central bank’s latest move to relax monetary policy and spur economic growth.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell short 18.39 points, or 0.1%, to 19,634.49. The yen was slightly higher against the greenback, with the U.S. dollar at ¥118.83, compared with ¥118.95 late Friday in New York.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index collapsed 558.19 points, or 2%, to 27,094.93, down the most since early December.
In Hong Kong, brokerage shares sank in the wake of the tighter margin rules, as Haitong International Securities Group Ltd. slid 10%,
China Everbright Ltd. sagged 9.7%, Shenyin Wanguo HK Ltd. shed 7.9%, Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd. declined 7.3%, and Citic Securities Co. Ltd. lost 7%.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 moved downward 74.22 points, or 1.6%, to 4,521.92.
Major Chinese lenders had posted brief gains in the morning after the central bank cut the reserve requirement ratio, but those gains were surrendered by the close of trade.
China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd. retreated 4.2%, China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. dropped 3.4%, China Citic Bank Corporation Ltd. fell 3.2%, and Bank of China Ltd. gave up 2.6%.
The weakness came after China’s top securities regulator unveiled on Friday a raft of measures to curb margin trading, while also allowing fund managers to lend stocks for short-selling and expanding the list of shares which can be sold short.
However, the regulator stressed a day later that there was no desire to "suppress" the hot stock market, but rather to improve its stability and healthy development.
The People’s Bank of China also made further moves Sunday to relax its monetary policy amid the economic slowdown, staging its biggest cut to banks’ reserve requirement ratio in more than six years and releasing about $200 billion in liquidity for banks to lend.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 21.94 points, or 0.6%, to 3,503.25
The Kospi index in Korea gained 3.21 points, or 0.2%, to 2,146.71
In Taiwan, the Taiex index slid 18.08 points, or 0.2%, to 9,552.85
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slipped 37.21 points, or 0.6%, to 5,824.28
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 faded 44.75 points, or 0.8%, to 5,833.12
