China stocks end two weeks of gains, weighed down by US election worries

SHANGHAI: Mainland China stocks ended lower on Friday after two straight weeks of gains, with signs of economic recovery outweighed by concerns over the US presidential election next week and its impact on Sino-US relations.

Uncertainty around the election and looming threats of higher tariffs on Chinese exports also prompted many currency traders to hedge against higher turbulence in the Chinese yuan in the coming week.

“China’s exports will be challenged regardless of who takes over the White House,” economists at ANZ said in a note.

“China is likely to attempt to offset the external headwind of higher tariffs by boosting domestic demand. The National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, in its upcoming meeting, is likely to amplify fiscal support and a de-risking plan for the next three years,” they said, referring to China’s top legislative body’s meeting from Nov. 4-8.

Latest housing data and manufacturing surveys showed that a string of recent stimulus measures have made an early impact on economic recovery, investors and analysts said.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.24% at 3,272.01 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.03%.

For the week, both SSEC and CSI300 indexes snapped their two straight weeks of gains to lose 0.8% and 1.7%, respectively, this week.

The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 2.31% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 1.881%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 189.10 points or 0.93% at 20,506.43 points. And the Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 1.08% to 7,342.66.

Prices of new homes in China rose at a faster pace in October, traditionally a peak season for house hunting, a private survey showed on Friday, suggesting that recent support measures could be having some early impact in a crisis-hit market.

China’s manufacturing activity swung back to growth in October as an expansion in new orders led to a pick-up in production growth, signalling an improvement in the sector at the start of the final quarter, a private-sector survey showed.

Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 2.63%.