China stocks close lower as property, financial firms drop

SHANGHAI: China stocks closed lower on Monday, dragged down by property and financial firms, after the central bank said it would not use real estate as a short-term method to stimulate the economy.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 1.1%, to 4,551.69, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1% to 3,428.88.

The People's Bank of China will meet the reasonable financing demands of the real economy while not resorting to flood-like stimulus, it said in its fourth-quarter implementation report.

The central bank also said it will fend off systemic financial risks and will not use real estate as a short-term method of stimulating the economy, sending real estate developers down 3.8%.

Financials lost 3.2%. Brokerage firms closed down 4.5%, with East Money Information Co marking a record intraday slump of 13.4%.

New energy shares added 0.4%. Battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd climbed 3.7%, rebounding from its biggest ever weekly drop after it denied a few online speculations.

Liquor makers added 1.5%, and new energy vehicles went up 1%.

Growth stocks might have dropped "relatively too much", but it may take some time for risk appetite to recover due to a lack of positive catalysts in the near term, investment bank CICC said in a note.

Overseas markets are also reacting to tightening monetary policies around the globe, which weighed on the performance of high-value growth sectors, CICC said.