SYDNEY : Asian stockmarkets were pinned near one-month lows on Tuesday as China cut short-term loan rates and reverse repo rates, with investors awaiting shopping and industrial output data for more news on the slowing of the world's second-biggest economy.
China's rate cuts offered some hope that economic help was on the way, and in offshore trade the yuan hit a 9-1/2 month low of 7.2958 to the dollar.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.2 per cent. Overnight, Wall Street indexes gained, led by megacap tech shares and especially chipmaker Nvidia, which jumped 7.1 per cent after Morgan Stanley analysts called it a"top pick".
China's largest private real estate developer Country Garden has struggled to meet debt dues and is now seeking to delay payment on a private onshore bond. J.P. Morgan analysts warned of a"vicious cycle" of real estate financing challenges and said trust defaults could wipe 0.3 per cent to 0.4 per cent from China's growth directly.
In bond markets, U.S. and European yields rose on Monday as investors see signs of economic resilience as likely to keep rates elevated for a prolonged period.