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.