China has made a surprising move to stimulate its economy by lowering key interest rates. The decision comes as the country faces several economic challenges, including weak growth in the second quarter, looming deflation, and a prolonged property crisis.
Chinese stocks, including Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA, PDD Holdings Inc PDD, JD.Com, Inc JD, Baidu, Inc BIDU, Bilibili Inc BILI are trading higher Monday.
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On Monday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced that it would cut the seven-day reverse repo rate to 1.7% from 1.8% and reduce the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) to 3.35% from 3.45%.
Additionally, China lowered the five-year LPR to 3.85% from 3.95%. These measures aim to boost economic activity and achieve the growth targets set during the recent plenum, Reuters reports.
The PBOC has also adjusted its lending programs. Starting in July, it will lower the collateral requirements for its medium-term lending facility loans.
Now, banks will need to hold fewer long-term bonds, enabling them to trade more freely and supporting the central bank’s efforts to stabilize long-term yields and prevent a bond bubble.
Following the rate cuts, Chinese sovereign bond yields fell, with 10-year and 30-year yields dropping by up to 3 basis points before stabilizing. China’s 30-year treasury futures for September 2024 delivery rose by approximately 0.3% in early trade on Monday.
Separate reports indicated that Nvidia Corp NVDA is developing a new AI chip tailored to meet U.S. export restrictions for China, which will boost stocks like Alibaba and Baidu, which are keen on pursuing their AI ambitions.
Alibaba stock lost 22% in the last 12 months as it battles macro and micro headwinds including cancellation of IPOs of its logistics and cloud business and intense domestic e-commerce rivalry from PDD. Baidu lost over 39% as its AI models strive to gain traction. JD.Com lost 32% and Bilibili in the last 12 months. PDD gained 69%.
Price Action: BABA shares are trading higher by 1.66% to $76.52 in the premarket session at the last check on Monday.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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