GLOBAL funds further trimmed their Chinese stock holdings in September, extending a relentless sell-off and lowering their average position in the country to the lowest level since 2020, Morgan Stanley said.

Net monthly outflows from active long-only managers in China and Hong Kong equities totalled US$3.2 billion during the month largely due to investor redemption and funds rebalancing their active positions, strategists including Gilbert Wong wrote in their quantitative analysis. The outflows surpassed the US$3 billion level for a second consecutive month.

Signs that the economy is stabilising have done little to lift investor sentiment as deepening property sector woes remain an overhang for Chinese shares. Beijing’s support measures to rejuvenate the economy have been inadequate, market watchers say. The MSCI China Index slumped on Tuesday (Oct 3), taking its decline for 2023 to more than 11 per cent. It’s on track for a third straight year of losses, which would mark its worst losing streak in two decades.

Foreign funds net sold US$37.5 billion yuan of mainland shares in September via the trading links with Hong Kong, extending the record US$12 billion outflows seen in August.

Throughout the third quarter, fund managers more actively sold stocks on insurance, media & entertainment, and e-commerce, the analysis showed. They added exposure to capital goods, semiconductors, and biotech, the brokerage said. BLOOMBERG