China’s Stocks Fall To Lowest Level Since 2009; Developers Drop

China’s stocks fell to the lowest level since March 2009 as speculation the government will maintain real-estate curbs overshadowed a State Council plan to develop the nation’s central provinces.

China Vanke Co. (000002) and Poly Real Estate (600048) Group Co. paced declines among developers after the official Xinhua News Agency said China must prevent local governments from weakening real- estate controls. Hunan Valin Steel Co. (000932), part-owned by the world’s biggest mill ArcelorMittal, surged to a one-month high as the China News Service said Hunan province’s Changsha city unveiled an 829.2 billion yuan ($130 billion) investment plan.

“Market sentiment is pretty weak and it will take a while for investors to reverse their pessimistic expectations about the economy,” said Wang Weijun, a strategist at Zheshang Securities Co. inShanghai. “We’ll probably see more stimulus packages from the government going forward.”

The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) dropped 0.5 percent to 2,126 at the close, erasing a 0.5 percent gain. The CSI 300 Index (SHSZ300) lost 0.5 percent to 2,347.49. The Bloomberg China-US 55 Index (CH55BN), the measure of the most-traded U.S.-listed Chinese companies, retreated 0.3 percent in New York yesterday.

Full Article