China stocks ended lower on Friday as the New Year rally showed signs of fatigue, with a stronger yuan lending little support to equities. The bluechip CSI300 index fell 0.6 percent, to 3,347.67 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent to 3,154.32 points. For the week, CSI300 was up 1.1 percent, while SSEC was up 1.6 percent.
A run of data from China in coming weeks is expected to show the economy entered 2017 with considerable momentum. Market news that the finance ministry was to study new measures to cut taxes and reduce the overall cost burden on firms drew a muted response. "Investors are likely to stay lukewarm on the stock market until the end of Lunar New Year when sentiment is expected to improve," said Cao Xuefeng, head of research at Huaxi Securities. The Lunar New Year holidays begin in late January. Sectors were mixed. Gains were led by energy shares, while financial and healthcare plays lagged behind.
Published under arrangements with Reuters.
No content from Business Recorder shall be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication, or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Business Recorder shall not be responsible or held liable for any error of fact, opinion or recommendation and also for any loss, financial or otherwise, resulting from business or trade or speculation conducted, or investments made, on the basis of the information posted here. Nor shall Business Recorder be held liable for any actions taken in consequence." >Copyright Reuters, 2017