China Stocks Drop Amid Property Crisis Concerns

China's stock market faced declines mirroring a downward trend in regional markets, as concerns about the deepening property crisis and sluggish domestic demand overshadowed signs of factory output improvement. Market sentiment remained cautious ahead of multiple global central bank meetings scheduled for the week. The U.S. Federal Reserve's policy review, particularly, garnered attention amid indications that interest rate cuts may not happen as swiftly or extensively as previously anticipated, keeping pressure on China's yuan. At market close, China's Shanghai Composite Index and the blue-chip CSI300 Index both recorded a 0.7% decline. Similarly, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index each dropped by 1.2%. The broader Asian stock market experienced a downturn amid prevailing cautiousness. Japanese shares exhibited volatility following the Bank of Japan's expected decision to end eight years of negative interest rates and implement the nation's first policy tightening since 2007. While recent data showed better-than-expected factory output and retail sales for January-February, concerns persist over the property sector's detrimental impact on the economy and investor confidence. Analysts at Gavekal Dragonomics remarked that China's economic growth outlook remains subdued, despite some positive indicators, as policymakers are yet to demonstrate a decisive shift towards stimulus measures. Moreover, a Reuters survey indicated expectations for China to maintain benchmark lending rates unchanged in its forthcoming meeting, consistent with the central bank's recent stance. In trading, healthcare and securities brokers' shares led the decline with losses of 1.8% each, while consumer staples and energy sectors saw gains of 1.3% and 0.5%, respectively. Despite Beijing's announcement of optimizing property regulations and implementing tailored policies based on district-specific circumstances, real estate developers still experienced a 1.3% decline. Foreign investors, who had shown inflows in the previous seven sessions, turned net sellers, offloading Chinese shares worth a net 7 billion yuan ($972 million) via the Stock Connect scheme on the day.