国际英语新闻：Investor concern on Europe hits stocks

BEIJING, May 15 -- China's benchmark stock index fell, paring a weekly gain, on concern government tightening measures including possibly a property tax and European nations' debt cutting will hurt global economic growth.

Jiangxi Copper Co, the nation's biggest producer of the metal, lost 1.2 percent and PetroChina Co slipped 0.7 percent after raw material prices dropped. Poly Real Estate Group Co led declines among developers on speculation the government may impose a tax on residential properties. Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co paced gains among drugmakers after the government said it will support private investment in the healthcare industry.

An investor monitors share movement at a brokerage in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

"Forecasts for corporate earnings growth are likely to be revised downwards because of the debt crisis. We should still be cautious about equities," said Wu Kan, a Shanghai-based fund manager at Dazhong Insurance Co, which oversees 285 million U.S. dollars.

The Shanghai Composite Index retreated 13.9, or 0.5 percent, to 2696.63. The gauge advanced 0.3 percent this week, the first weekly gain in six. The CSI 300 Index declined 0.7 percent to 2868.02. Futures on the May CSI 300 contract, the most active, fell 1.4 percent.

Premier Wen Jiabao struck a cautious note about the world economy, saying the sovereign-debt crisis in some countries is "deepening" and the foundations of a global recovery are not yet "solid".

"We should never underestimate the gravity and complexity of this crisis and its far-reaching impact on the world political and economic landscape," Wen said at a biannual China-Arab ministerial meeting held in Tianjin.