** China's blue chip CSI300 Index was down 1.2%, lowest since Jan. 4; while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.12%.
** The Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 1.72%, lowest level since Dec. 21, 2022; while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 1.18%
** Asian stocks slid on Thursday after Credit Suisse said it
would borrow up to $54 billion from Switzerland's central bank
to shore up its liquidity after a slump in its shares
intensified fears about a global financial crisis.
** This is the latest fallout since the demise of Silicon
Valley Bank last week put markets on edge ahead of a European
Central Bank (ECB) meeting later in the day.
** "The ECB meeting would be interesting because it will be
the first central bank to make comments since the failure of
Silicon Valley Bank. The market was expecting a 50 bps (basis
point) cut, but now (it is) up in the air," said Alvin Tan, head
of Asia currency strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
** In China, new home prices rose at the fastest pace since
July 2021, edging up 0.3% month-on-month in February from a 0.1%
gain in January.
** This adds to positive fixed asset investment and retail
sales data. "The ongoing consumption rebound and improvement in
investment growth send encouraging signs that the Chinese
economy is strengthening," Bank of America analysts said in a
research note.
** In Hong Kong, Baidu Inc. led the decliners,
down 6.36%. Oil stocks also weighed on the blue chip index, as
CNOOC dropped 4.91%.
** In China, the CSI SWS Coal Index was down 3.39% and new energy stocks tracked by the CSI Photovoltaic Industry Index dropped 4.69%.
(Reporting by Hong Kong Newsroom; editing by Sonia Cheema and
Jason Neely)
