Stock Market

A quarter of China's 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) economic stimulus package is going to rebuilding areas hit by last year's devastating earthquake in Sichuan, the government said Thursday, as questions swirled over how the money is being spent and whether it is spurring a recovery.

Chinas economy would grow 6 percent this year without government help but the 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus plan and other measures will boost growth to over 8 percent, Xinhua news agency quoted a senior government researcher as saying.

Chinese stocks fell sharply on Monday as nervousness about upcoming economic data caused investors to take profits in a wide range of financial and industrial blue chips that led the market up last week. The Shanghai Composite Index, which gained 5.29 percent last week, ended Monday down 3.39 percent at 2,118.748 points in active trade, just off the days low of 2,116.453.

Most Chinese bill and bond yields edged down on Monday but many traders said there was little room for yields to fall further, given the likelihood that the central bank was near or at the end of its easing cycle. The central banks surprise net injection in its open market operations last week, after net drains in the previous two weeks, continued to have an impact on the debt markets.