HONG KONG: China and Hong Kong stocks slipped on Thursday, closing the month in a loss, as official data showed factory activity in the world’s second-largest economy shrank again in August.
China’s blue-chip CSI 300 Index dropped 0.61% and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.55%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.55%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dipped 0.38%.
For August, the CSI 300 tumbled 6.2%, logging the biggest monthly decline since October 2022, while the Hang Seng lost 7.2%, its worst monthly performance since February.
August also saw a record monthly foreign capital net selling, via the northbound trading link, of nearly 90 billion yuan ($12.35 billion).
China’s manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August but improved from July, maintaining pressure on officials to provide more economic stimulus.
The August purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey showed better-than-expected manufacturing activity but worse-than-projected non-manufacturing activity, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.
“We expect the manufacturing PMI to remain soft, weighed by the significant collapse of the property sector and rising geopolitical headwinds,” said Nomura economists led by Lu Ting.
Comments
Comments are closed.