China stocks end lower as expectations cool for Beijing’s fiscal stimulus

SHANGHAI: China and Hong Kong stocks declined on Friday but booked their best week in a month, as investors lowered expectations for Beijing’s fiscal stimulus package and took profit ahead of the announcement.

Chinese authorities said that they would allow local governments to issue six trillion yuan ($838.77 billion) in bonds to swap for off-balance sheet or “hidden” debt over three years.

Investors appeared disappointed with the size of the plan, with the Hang Seng Index widenening losses in the final minutes before the market closed at 4:15 p.m.

All eyes are on details of Beijing’s fiscal stimulus after US elections, which some expect will be more forceful in the face of tariff threats from US President-elect Donald Trump.

Reuters earlier reported China is considering approving the issuance of over 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in extra debt in the next few years to revive its fragile economy, addressing local debts, property and consumption. Both China and Hong Kong markets opened higher following Wall Street bullishness overnight as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected, adding fuel to a risk rally sparked by Trump’s election victory. But at the close China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index fell 1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.5%. For the week though, both gauges were still up more than 5%.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 1.1%, but logged its first weekly gain since October.

Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management said it is unrealistic to expect the government to announce details of fiscal stimulus for next year at Friday’s meeting.

“I think the messages from the press conference are positive for China’s macro outlook.” As the highly anticipated stimulus was about to be announced, some market watchers warned that investor expectations were too high and said they believed most funds will go toward reduced local government debt burdens and won’t offer much of a boost to near-term economic growth.