China markets fall amid fears of tighter liquidity

SHANGHAI, Dec 25 (Reuters): China stocks fell on Monday, with the start-up board ChiNext posting its biggest decline in three weeks as expectations of tighter monetary policies stirred worries about market liquidity.

China is likely to set its 2018 money growth target at an all-time low of around 9 per cent to curb debt risks and contain asset bubbles, the official China Daily reported on Monday, citing economists involved in high-level policy discussions.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 16.22 points or 0.49 per cent at 3,280.84.

The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.31 per cent, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 0.14 per cent, the consumer staples sector up 0.3 per cent, the real estate index up 1.89 per cent and healthcare sub-index up 0.32 per cent.

The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 0.93 per cent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 1.32 per cent.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.04 per cent while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.16 per cent.

At 07:01 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.5545 per US dollar, 0.33 per cent firmer than the previous close of 6.5765.