HONG KONG: China’s blue-chip stocks retreated for a second day and Hong Kong shares also dropped on Tuesday, as pessimism over China’s economic outlook widened while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of key Politburo meeting.
China stocks end flat ahead of Politburo meeting
China will release its July official manufacturing survey (PMI) on Wednesday.
The country’s factory activity likely shrank for a third month in July, a Reuters poll showed on Monday, highlighting a rising urgency for policymakers to release further stimulus as a property crisis and job insecurity drag on growth.
Investors awaited outcome of the upcoming Politburo meeting, which will be attended by China’s top leaders, and also cues on whether there will be additional policy stimulus.
Mainland energy stocks listed in A-shares and Hong Kong led the decline, down more than 2%, respectively, following an overnight drop in oil prices.
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At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.52% at 2,876.87 points.
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China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.84%, with its financial sector sub-index trading lower by 0.37%, the consumer staples sector slipped 1.43%, the real estate index down 0.29% and the healthcare sub-index down 0.83%.
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Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 1.4% to 5,996.46, while the Hang Seng Index was down 1.2% at 17,038.35.
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The smaller Shenzhen index was down 0.22%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.41% and Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR50 index was flat for the day.
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Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.48% while Japan’s Nikkei index was down 0.31%.
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The yuan was quoted at 7.2612 per US dollar, 0.01% weaker than the previous close of 7.2605.
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