對中國經濟的憂慮拉低中國股市 Economic nerves return

Chinese equities tumbled again as concerns over the health of the country’s economy continued to unnerve international investors and officials.

中國股市再次下跌，同時對中國經濟的憂慮繼續讓國際投資者和官員感到不安。

The falls came with many economists and investors expecting the Federal Reserve to shelve plans to tighten monetary policy at its pivotal interest rate-setting meeting on Thursday, largely because of mounting concerns over China and the turbulence it has caused.

此次下跌之際，許多經濟學家和投資者預計美聯儲(Fed)週四將在至關重要的利率制定會議上擱置收緊貨幣政策的計劃，主要原因是人們對中國及其引起的動盪的憂慮正在加深。

The benchmark Shanghai Composite shed 2.7 per cent and the small-cap focused Shenzhen Composite fell 6.7 per cent. For both indices, it was the worst session since August 25.

基準的上證綜指昨日下跌2.7%，小盤股集中的深圳綜指下跌6.7%。兩項指數都遭遇8月25日以來最差的一個交易日。

Meanwhile, a long-awaited plan to overhaul China’s bloated state-owned enterprises was met with disappointment by investors. Shares in many of the SOEs that were expected to benefit had risen over the past year, and when the plan turned out to be less far-reaching than many people hoped, investors seized the moment to lock in profits.

同時，人們期待已久的整頓中國臃腫的國有企業的計劃讓投資者感到失望。預計將獲益於改革的許多國企的股價在過去1年已經上升，當最終公佈的改革方案不如許多人期待的那麼影響深遠時，投資者抓住時機鎖定利潤。

Yesterday’s share price falls also came amid growing disquiet among foreign investors that China’s slowdown is worse than previously thought, and worries that measures taken by the Beijing authorities to stabilise the stock market and revive the broader economy are failing.

此外，昨日中國股價下跌之際，外國投資者日益憂慮中國的放緩可能比之前設想的更嚴重，同時各方擔憂中國官方採取的穩定股市和重振整體經濟的措施正面臨失敗。

“It is still unclear whether the policy response in China will be sufficient... dispel concerns about [a] spillover on the global economy,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a report.

“還不清楚中國的政策迴應是否足以……消除對全球經濟將遭遇溢出效應的憂慮，”德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)分析師在一份報告中寫道。

There was more bad news over the weekend, as data released on Sunday showed fixed-asset investment for the year till the end of August posting the slowest rate of growth for 15 years. Factory output growth also remained near its weakest level in a decade.

上週末傳來了更多壞消息，週日公佈的數據表明，今年前8個月的固定資產投資增長率是15年來最慢的。工業產出增長也依然處於10年來的最低水平。

Simmering concerns over China also weighed on western financial markets yesterday, with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 slipping for a third consecutive day and the US S&P 500 also losing ground.

對中國的憂慮情緒不斷髮酵，昨日也拖累了西方金融市場，在歐洲，富時Eurofirst 300(FTSE Eurofirst 300)連續第三日下跌，美國的標準普爾500指數(S&P 500)也出現下滑。

Some economists and investors have argued that the Fed, faced with signs of weakness in the global economy, should keep rates on hold. Interest rate futures indicate that there is only a 30 per cent chance the US central bank will lift rates on Thursday, and some traders are betting that it will keep its benchmark rate near zero until 2016.

一些經濟學家和投資者主張，面對全球經濟呈現的疲弱跡象，美聯儲應該暫緩利率調整。利率期貨表明，期貨市場估計美國央行週四加息的機率僅爲30%，而一些交易員打賭美聯儲將保持接近於零的基準利率至2016年。

Shares in bigger Chinese listed companies staged a late rally in the final 40 minutes of the trading day. That matched a pattern in recent weeks, when the “national team” of state financial institutions has stepped in during the final hour of trade to curb losses.

較大的中國上市公司的股價昨日尾盤40分鐘出現上揚。這符合最近數週的模式——由國家金融機構組成的“國家隊”在交易日的最後一小時進場以遏止損失。