Hong Kong stocks ended 0.20 percent lower Monday following a mixed bag of Chinese trade data that added to concerns about the mainland economy. The Hang Seng Index eased 49.70 points to 25,190.45 on turnover of HK$56.44 billion ($7.28 billion). Shanghai and Shenzhen were closed for a public holiday. Hong Kong will be closed Tuesday.
-- China markets closed for a public holiday
China's trade surplus surged 77.8 percent to a record $49.8 billion in August, official data showed Monday, as imports saw a surprising fall and export growth slowed in a further sign of softness in the world's second-largest economy. The figures are the latest in a string of disappointing data suggesting there is still weakness in the economy and fanning expectations the government will unveil new measures to boost growth.
Beijing in April introduced a series of mini stimulus measures to boost growth, such as tax breaks for small enterprises, targeted infrastructure spending and lending incentives in rural areas and for small companies. "The continued deceleration in import growth is another worrying sign of weak domestic demand," Nomura economists said, according to Dow Jones Newswires. "The risk is that the piecemeal easing measures will not be enough to stem the loss of growth momentum and force more aggressive easing." Last week two closely watched indexes indicated that expansion in manufacturing activity slowed in August. And in July, bank lending plunged while growth in key measurements such as industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment lost momentum from the previous month. Internet firm Tencent slipped 1.87 percent to HK$125.9, China Mobile added 1.1 percent to HK$101.3 and HSBC eased 0.9 percent to HK$82.85.
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