China: Stocks wobbly in early trade; small-caps outperform

[SHANGHAI] China's major stock indexes bobbed in and out of positive territory on Friday as investors awaited more data for clues on the health of the economy.

The CSI300 index fell 0.1 per cent to 3,353.95 points by 0154 GMT, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1 per cent to 3,193.89.

China CSI300 stock index futures for September rose 0.8 per cent, to 3,327, 26.95 points below the current value of the underlying index.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.5 per cent at 21,672.32.

China will release data on August bank lending, industrial output, retail sales and investment in coming days.

Data this week showed imports and exports continued to contract while deflationary pressures intensified, putting manufacturers under more stress.

REUTERS