SHANGHAI — China’s Mainland markets lost ground on Wednesday, though precipitous falls were stemmed by late rallies in both Shanghai and Shenzhen.
After declining as much as 3.7 percent in midafternoon trade, the Shanghai composite rallied before closing to finish the day down 2.3 percent, at 2,972, below the psychologically important marker of 3,000 points.
The Shenzhen composite fell even more sharply, down 5.2 percent in midafternoon trade, before a slight rally to close the day down 4 percent. Hong Kong also fell, with the Hang Seng down 1.3 percent just prior to closing.
Nomura analysts wrote in a note Wednesday they advised steering clear of Chinese markets for the time being.
“We are nearing the point where things are as good as they get for the first half of 2016: China’s growth is stabilizing, so is the yuan exchange rate to the U.S. dollar and capital outflows, while consensus forecasts show low likelihood of a June Fed rate hike,” they wrote. “In coming months, rising default among private and state-owned enterprises credit and closure of zombie companies as part of supply-side reforms could raise headline risk.”
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia’s ASX 200 finished the day 0.5 percent stronger, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.2 percent and Seoul’s Kospi index lost 0.3 percent.