JPMorgan mistakenly called Chinese Internet stocks 'uninvestable' in a March research note that wiped out $200 billion from US and Asian markets, says report

• A publishing error caused a JPMorgan research note in March to describe Chinese internet stocks as "uninvestable," Bloomberg reported.
• The bank's editorial staff had asked for the term to be removed from 28 research notes before they published March 14.

A publishing error caused a JPMorgan research note in March to describe Chinese internet stocks as "uninvestable," Bloomberg reported.

The bank's editorial staff had asked for the term to be removed from 28 research notes before they were published on March 14, sources told the publication. While "uninvestable" was removed from most of the research notes, it was published by error in four, including one on JD.com:

"As risk management becomes the most important consideration among global investors in relation to their China investment strategy, as they price in China's geopolitical risks, we view China Internet as uninvestable on a six-12-month view with a binary share price outlook."

Following the report, US and Asian markets shed roughly $200 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In some cases, the word was replaced by "unattractive," as JPMorgan analysts and supervisors agreed "uninvestable" wasn't the best way to describe the stocks. In fact, the note predicted at least 10 of the Chinese internet companies would see their stocks rise by year-end.

Despite the report of the editorial error, JPMorgan backed the versions of the notes that went out to the public.

"We stand by our published research and the analyst's independent analysis of the sector," a JPMorgan spokesperson told Bloomberg. "A few subjective terms used interchangeably doesn't change that."

JPMorgan responded to Insider's request for comment and said the firm stands by its initial response to Bloomberg.