China stocks close down on deflation worries

BEIJING: China stocks closed lower on Thursday, as slow consumer inflation and deepening factory gate deflation data suggested an uneven recovery and stoked deflation worries. ** China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index edged down 0.2% at close, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.3%.

** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index edged up 0.2%. ** China's consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in more than two years in April, while factory gate deflation deepened, data showed, suggesting that more stimulus might be needed to boost a patchy post-COVID economic recovery.

** "The subdued inflation readings suggest post-COVID recovery momentum continued to weaken in April," said Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura. ** "China will likely experience a short period of CPI deflation in the coming months," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

** The weak consumer price rise reinforces the signals from this week's trade data suggesting domestic demand remains lacklustre. ** Shares in non-ferrous metal went down 1%, and artificial intelligence firms dropped 1.6%. Meanwhile, new energy and media firms jumped 1.3% and 2.1%, respectively.

** Tech giants listed in Hong Kong added 1.3%, with Alibaba up 3.1%. ** China's securities watchdog said that it was willing to work with its United States counterparts to promote audit regulator cooperation and safeguard the rights and interests of global investors.

** Chinese treasuries extended their rise on Thursday, pushing the 10-year benchmark yield below a key threshold, as downbeat inflation data and news of banks' plans to cut deposit rates fuelled bets on further monetary easing. ** Separately, sources said China has told its "big four" state-owned banks to reduce the ceiling on interest rates they pay on some deposits, as banks face squeezed margins under the weight of huge inflows of savings and deposits amid rising economic risks.