Chinese internet companies lead stock price fall

The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index of the most-traded Chinese companies in the US slid 0.3% to 91.82 on Tuesday after the IMF cut its projected growth rate for China, Bloomberg reported. Led by Internet companies, Chinese stocks in New York fell for a second consecutive day to the lowest point in two weeks. Baidu (BIDU.NASDAQ), China’s largest search engine, sank to a three-month low after Credit Suisse Group (CS.NASDAQ) became the third bank to cut its rating this month. China’s biggest exchange-traded fund in the US, iShares FTSE 25 Index Fund, rose 0.1% to US$35.02 and the S&P 500 Index lost 1%, the biggest drop since September 25. The IMF reduced world growth prospects to the lowest rate since 2009, with “alarmingly high” risks of steeper slowdown. The multinational agency lowered its world forecast to 3.3%, down from July’s 3.5% prediction. Beijing has been lowering interest rates and injecting fiscal stimulus measures to try and reignite its slowing economy as global demand for exports weaken.