HONG KONG: China and Hong Kong shares tumbled on Thursday, led by property and commodity stocks, as a lack of stimulus signals from the Politburo meeting and sluggish factory data weighed on investor sentiment.
-
In the much-anticipated Politburo meeting, top leaders pledged to support the economy by managing “disorderly competition”, but showed no sense of urgency to roll out big stimulus.
-
Meanwhile, fresh data showed China’s manufacturing activity shrank for a fourth straight month in July as demand at home and abroad weakened.
-
Investors were also anxiously awaiting progress in U.S.-China trade talks with the truce deadline approaching, now that neighbouring South Korea has struck a deal and lowered tariff levels.
-
The policy meeting did not reveal a fundamental shift in policy thinking on growth, which could be a potential letdown for some investors, while the trade talks also failed to deliver much details, Citibank’s chief China economist Xiangrong Yu said in a note.
-
“The events could weigh on near-term market sentiment, more or less,” the economist said.
-
At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.7% at 3,591.26 after closing at a nine-month high in the previous session.
-
The blue-chip CSI300 index declined 1.1%, heading for its biggest single-day drop in nearly four months.
-
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 1.1% at 24,906.39.
-
Leading declines, the real estate index, fell 3.5% onshore and 3.7% in Hong Kong.
-
Commodities-related shares fell further, with steel , coal and materials down 2.8% to 3.3%.
-
Still, the Shanghai Composite index has advanced 4.3% so far in July in a third straight month of gain, joining a recovery in global equities from the tariff shocks.
American Dollar Exchange Rate