China stocks fall for fifth straight session amid recovery concerns

SHANGHAI: China stocks fell for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, after data showed the country’s economic recovery was uneven, while investors were also worried about lingering geopolitical risks.

** China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 0.5% by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4%.

** Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 1.6%, while the China Enterprises Index slumped 1.9%.

** Investor sentiment remained weak after data last Tuesday showed the economy’s recovery after its reopening from COVID restrictions was uneven, sending mainland share benchmarks down for five consecutive sessions.

** The market was also concerned about US restrictions on technology investments, analysts said.

** “The geopolitical overhang has weighed on offshore China, i.e. Hong Kong and US-listed China stocks as the last two days saw geopolitical concerns spilling over into onshore China,” wrote Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer at KraneShares in a note.

** “The recent pullback in onshore China should get attention from policy makers,” he said.

** That worry dragged Hong Kong-listed tech giants down 3.5%, with Meituan tumbling 4.8%.

China, HK stocks drop as economic recovery weighs

** In mainland markets, new energy shares and communications equipment stocks slumped 2.9% and 4.1%, respectively.

** Market participants also cautiously awaited the April Politburo meeting this week, when a top decision-making body of the Communist Party discusses the economy.

** “The April Politburo meeting is the next key event to watch. Better-than-expected Q1 GDP took some pressure off policymakers to conduct broad-based easing, but the divergences underlying the economy call for targeted support,” Goldman Sachs said in a note.

** “We expect the broad monetary and fiscal stance to be unchanged, some industry-level policies (e.g., property and internet) to loosen further.”

** Separately, China nudged banks this month to cut deposit interest rates further, sources told Reuters, in the latest effort to channel the country’s vast savings pool into spending and more productive investments.