China stocks mixed on uneven trends in Q1 growth data

HONG KONG: China shares on Tuesday were mixed and traded in a narrow range, even as the country reported higher-than-expected quarterly growth on a boost from consumption.

** However, the momentum was offset by some disappointing sub-data, including property investment and industrial output, which pointed to an uneven recovery trend, analysts said.

** China’s blue-chip CSI 300 Index edged up 0.08%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was flat.

** The Hang Seng Index lost 0.75%, while Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 0.71%.

** China’s economy grew 4.5% year-on-year in the first three months of the year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday, faster than the 2.9% reported in the previous quarter and beating analysts’ forecasts of a 4% expansion.

** Industrial output rose 3.9% in March year-on-year, accelerating from a 2.4% increase in the first two months but missing expectations slightly.

** “The better-than-expected economic data shatters worries for a weak recovery, but it’s not showing a strong recovery either,” said Tao Chuan, chief macro analyst at Soochow Securities in Beijing.

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** Consumption is strong, which shows demand is picking up, but we are also seeing structural problems persisting in the youth unemployment rate, property investment and confidence in the private sector, Tao added.

** March retail sales rose 10.6%, beating forecasts for a 7.4% increase by a large margin.

** Property investment fell 5.8% from a year earlier in the first three months of 2023, from a 5.7% decline in January-February.

** The data is mixed, said Pang Xichun, research director at Nanjing RiskHunt Investment Management Co.

** “The market is disappointed as property investment fell in the first quarter, which is a surprise after many property policies (that were) rolled out in the past year, while housing sales have rebounded.”

** Hong Kong-listed mainland property firms dropped 0.8%, while tech giants declined 1.3%.

** Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on market sentiment. Taiwan will buy as many as 400 US land-launched Harpoon missiles, Bloomberg News reports.