China stock edge down as property, consumer data disappoints; HK higher

China Overseas Land & Investment

17/05/2024 05:53

By Summer Zhen
       HONG KONG, May 17 (Reuters) - China stocks struggled for
direction on Friday and inched lower by midday as a slew of
domestic data showed that growth prospects for the world's
second-largest economy remain challenging.
    China's factory output topped forecasts in April, while
retail sales unexpectedly slowed and new home prices fell at
fastest pace in over 9 years, piling pressure on Beijing to do
more to support growth. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3HK03B
    Meanwhile, China's finance ministry auctioned 30-year bonds
at a yield of 2.57% on Friday, as Beijing kicked off sales of
1-trillion-yuan long-term special bonds to help stimulate a
flagging economy.
    Shares of some Chinese property developers  .HSMPI  rose by
midday ahead of a news briefing held by officials about policies
to ensure completion of housing projects. 
    Hong Kong stocks extended gains, driven by a 7% surge in
Alibaba Group  9988.HK  after U.S. regulatory filings show some
global funds, including "Big Short" investor Michael Burry, 
accumulated the firm's stocks last quarter. 
    Hang Seng Tech Index  .HSTECH  was up 0.7%.   
** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  was
down 0.1% at 3,119.27 points. 
** China's blue-chip CSI300 index  .CSI300  was down 0.2%, with
its financial sector sub-index  .CSI300FS   higher by 0.06%, the
consumer staples sector  .CSI000912  up 0.07%, the real estate
index  .CSI000952  down 1.01% and the healthcare sub-index
 .CSI300HC  down 0.85%.
** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong  .HSCE  rose 0.34% to
6,894.43, while the Hang Seng Index  .HSI  was  up 0.29% at 
19,433.14. 
** The smaller Shenzhen index  .SZSC  was down 0.1%, the
start-up board ChiNext Composite index  .CNT  was weaker by
0.19% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index  .STAR50  was up
0.12%​.
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was weaker by 0.34% while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  was down 0.32%.
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 7.2265 per U.S. dollar,
0.09% weaker than the previous close of 7.2199. 
 
    

 (Reporting by Summer Zhen; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
 ((summer.zhen@thomsonreuters.com; 852-3462-7739;))