China's Property Woes Fail to Boost Markets

China and Hong Kong stocks saw declines as Beijing's property sector support measures didn't elevate market sentiments. Despite initiatives like tax incentives, the sector indices slumped sharply. However, Tencent provided some respite with notable gains. Overall, market performance remained mixed amid broader regional trends.

China and Hong Kong stock markets experienced declines on Thursday after Beijing's latest measures to rejuvenate the ailing property sector left investors unimpressed. By midday, the Shanghai Composite index had decreased by 0.32% to 3,428.37 points, with the blue-chip CSI300 index also down by 0.31%. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index saw a sharper drop of 0.88%, closing at 19,649.91.

Despite efforts to stabilize the troubled property sector through tax incentives on home and land transactions, stock prices in the sector remained unimproved. The CSI real estate index fell by 0.52%, and the Hang Seng Mainland property Index slumped by 2.25%. Notably, developer Longfor was a significant loser in Hong Kong, plummeting by 5% to its lowest since late September.

Bucking the trend, Chinese tech giant Tencent saw its shares rise by up to 2.8% following an 8% increase in September-quarter revenue. Elsewhere in the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index dropped by 0.48%, although Japan's Nikkei index managed a modest gain of 0.15%. The yuan was quoted at 7.2435 per U.S. dollar, marginally weaker than its previous close. Despite these recent fluctuations, the Shanghai stock index has risen 15.2% this year, and the CSI300 has grown by 19.4%, primarily driven by promises of governmental stimulus announced in late September.

(With inputs from agencies.)