At close of trade, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.24%, or 7.67 points, to 3,161.84. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, dropped 0.66%, or 13.67 points, to 2,046.76. The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.19%, or 7.44 points, to 4,010.03.
The World Bank downgraded its 2022 GDP growth forecast for China to 2.7% from 4.3%, and for 2023 to 4.3% from its previous 5.2% growth outlook, due to the continued weakness in the real estate sector and disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
China added CNY1.4 trillion in new loans, up CNY190 billion (USD2.8 billion) from November and an increase of CNY266.5 billion (USD39.3 billion) from a year ago, according to data released by the People's Bank of China yesterday. Some CNY1.26 trillion of the total was corporate loans, up by CNY601.7 billion from a year earlier.
CURRENCY NEWS: China's yuan was little changed against the dollar on Wednesday, despite weaker mid-point fixing by China's central bank. Prior to the market open, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC at 6.7756 per dollar, weaker than the previous fix of 6.7611. In the spot market, the onshore yuan was changing hands at around 6.7755 per dollar by late afternoon.
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