China: Stocks close lower as investors grow wary ahead of May data
[SHANGHAI] Stocks in China edged lower on Monday as investors await a flurry of data in coming weeks to assess the health of the economy.
But losses were capped by growing hopes that MSCI will include Chinese shares in its emerging market index in a decision next week, which could spark foreign buying.
The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 0.3 per cent to 3,178.79, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2 per cent to 2,934.10 points. "In the coming week, the market will focus on May's credit and economic data," wrote Gao Ting, head of China strategy at UBS Securities. "We believe if the economy can basically stabilise at April's levels and if there is no sign of significant monetary policy tightening, the market could get some support." May data is expected to reinforce views that the world's second-largest economy is slowly steadying but not gaining momentum as investors had hoped just a few months ago, a Reuters' poll of economists showed.
Mot sectors were down on Monday, with financial and consumer shares leading the decline.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Capital Markets & Currencies
Japan may have spent 5.5 trillion yen on Apr 29 intervention, BOJ data suggests
Singapore stocks rise, tracking regional bourses; STI up 0.3%
Asia: Markets build on Wall Street rally, yen holds bounce
Singapore shares open in the red on Tuesday; STI down 0.3%
Stocks to watch: Wilmar, MLT, FEHT, CDLHT, Starhill Global Reit, IReit Global
Europe: Stocks eke out gains after German inflation data; Deutsche Bank drops