China stocks fall as Country Garden drags property developers lower

China stocks closed down on Wednesday, dragged by property developers as Country Garden missed a coupon payment, while some investors booked profit after they saw no policy surprise from the annual parliament meeting. ** China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7%, while the blue-chip CSI300 Index slipped 0.4% at market close.

China stocks closed down on Wednesday, dragged by property developers as Country Garden missed a coupon payment, while some investors booked profit after they saw no policy surprise from the annual parliament meeting.

** China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7%, while the blue-chip CSI300 Index slipped 0.4% at market close. ** Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index edged down 0.1% and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 0.3%.

** Country Garden Holdings fell 4.9% as the Chinese property developer said funds for a 96 million yuan ($13 million) coupon payment due Tuesday were not fully in place and it planned to raise funds for the missed onshore coupon payment within 30-day grace period. ** The CSI 300 Real Estate Index declined 2.6%, while insurance slumped 3.4%. However, shares in anime comic games jumped 4.3%.

** In Hong Kong, mainland developers listed in the city slipped 1.1%, but tech giants gained 0.3%. ** Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced an ambitious 2024 economic growth target of around 5%, while analysts say much more stimulus may be needed to hit this year's target.

** "There were no upside surprises from the long-awaited National People's Congress, with headline economic and fiscal targets in line with market expectations, while policy details were lacking," said UBS in a note. ** "While policy remains supportive, most of the good news seems priced in with the recent rally," the bank said, adding it cuts Chinese equities from most preferred to neutral.

** China should rely more on structural reforms and less on economic stimulus to drive economic growth this year, Liu Shijin, a policy adviser to the central bank, said on Wednesday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)