SHANGHAI: China’s stocks slid to their lowest close in nearly six years on Thursday, dragged down by consumer-related shares, as sentiment remained weak ahead of the holidays and investors were awaiting a slew of economic data for further catalysts.
China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index ended lower by 0.4% to its lowest close since January 2019, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.2%.
“One of the biggest challenges we have seen this year is that the policymakers have introduced a variety of policies, but they are not often implemented at the same time in the same way,” said Jason Lui, head of APAC equity and derivative strategy at BNP Paribas.
“If there is a proper implementation of policy, we do think that it is possible for the market to rally 5% to 10% towards year-end if there’s indeed coordination.”
Domestic demand remains a weak area in the Chinese economy, and investors are looking forward to a slew of economic and activity data including retail sales and house prices this Saturday to see if there is any improvement.
Among sectors, the consumer staples sector was down 2.65%, dragging China stocks, while the financial sector sub-index rose 0.32%.
Liquor giant Kweichou Moutai fell 3.3% to the lowest level since October 2022.
The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 0.48% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.42%.
The Hang Seng index was up 0.78% while the Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.61%.
Tech shares traded in Hong Kong rose 0.7%, with Meituan and Alibaba up 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively.
HK-listed Wuxi Apptec jumped 5.1%, after the company announced share buybacks the previous day.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.46%, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 3.41%.
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