SHANGHAI: China stocks closed flat on Friday as new measures aimed to help the auto and electronics sectors failed to lift sentiment while Hong Kong shares climbed.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index and Shanghai Composite Index closed roughly flat, after declining for most days in the week, while the Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 0.8%.
For the week, the CSI300 Index and Hang Seng Index were down 2.0% and 1.7%, respectively.
Chinese authorities announced a raft of measures on Friday to help boost sales of automobiles and electronics, and warned local governments against rolling out policies that would fuel vicious competition, as they seek to shore up a slowing economy.
“But these supports are unlikely to significantly boost consumption when people are still generally reluctant to spend as they lack confidence in the economic recovery,” UBS analysts wrote in a note.
Auto retail sales outlook for the second half is gloomy due to a sluggish economy, weak consumption and lingering deflation risk, the analysts added.
Automobiles and electronics shares fell 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.
Food and Beverage shares, along with other consumer staple stocks were up more than 1.5%.
Liquor shares rose as much as 3.2%, as analysts expected sector earnings to steadily increase in the second quarter and as valuation for the sector may have bottomed. In Hong Kong, tech stocks gained 1.0%, with Alibaba up 2.0%.
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