China stocks were lower Wednesday after the overnight United States inflation report that signaled a diminished possibility of the Fed’s rate cut made investors cautious.
Hong Kong stocks edged less than 0.1% lower at 17,082.11, ending its three consecutive days of gain. Hang Seng Tech Index advanced 0.4%, with JD.com gaining 0.3% after the company announced a share buyback of as much as $3 billion over the next three years.
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.4% to 3,043.83, and the smaller market in Shenzhen also shed 0.3%.
The overnight report on U.S. inflation subdued investor optimism, with the data showing that consumers paid prices in February that were a bit higher than expected, making it less likely that the Federal Reserve could deliver long-sought cuts to interest rates at its meeting next week.
China’s local media reported Tuesday that the country’s state-owned banks may raise up to 80 billion yuan ($11.2 billion) in syndicated loans to assist the property developer China Vanke in meeting its impending repayment deadlines.