SHANGHAI: China and Hong Kong stocks started the week on a soft note amid lingering concern over the sustainability of the economic recovery, despite more bullish forecasts from global banks.

** China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 0.4% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng lost 0.6%.

** Investors are looking beyond companies’ first-quarter results for signs that China’s economy is indeed on its feet.

** China’s economic growth of 4.5% in the first quarter beat expectations, but “favourable base effects will fade” in the second half, while “the economy remains characterised by an uneven pace of recovery,” DBS wrote in a note to clients.

** Retail sales and production are picking up gradually; public sector investment has picked up, but private investment growth is anaemic, and the external demand outlook is uncertain, the bank said.

** The caution clouds the market, despite upgrades on China’s economy from some global institutions, including BofA Global Research, J.P.Morgan, Citigroup and UBS.

** “Uncertainty on the real estate recovery is a major factor holding back the market right now,” wrote Qi Wang, co-founder and CIO of MegaTrust Investment (HK). “I think the market is questioning how sustainable the consumption strength is if real estate fails to recover.”

China stocks end lower as uneven recovery keeps investor sentiment fragile

** China’s tech-focused STAR Market fell 1.7%, while consumer and materials stocks also dropped.

** In Hong Kong, property and financial shares led the declines.