Global investors snap up Chinese stocks for third month in a row, in more upbeat tone for US$9 trillion market

Valuations in China’s markets are ‘worthy of allocations’, Everbright Securities analyst says
Overseas buying is expected to carry on at least in the near future: Goldman Sachs

China stock market

Zhang Shidongin Shanghai

Published: 9:30am, 1 May 2024

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Foreign investors loaded up on Chinese stocks for a third straight month in April, adding to evidence that global fund managers have become more positive about the world’s second-largest market.

Overseas traders bought a total of 6.02 billion yuan (US$831 million) of yuan-traded shares through the cross-border Stock Connect programmes with Hong Kong, adding to net buying of 82.7 billion yuan during the previous two months, according to Bloomberg data. The three consecutive months of inflows are the longest streak of foreign buying in a year, the data shows.

Global money managers extended their purchases after China’s economy exhibited more signs of stabilising and regulators ramped up policy support to prop up stocks. Meanwhile, a rebalancing of global assets has also stoked demand for Chinese assets, which are trading at depressed valuations at a time when diminished expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve are roiling markets from the United States to Japan.

Overseas exposure to Chinese stocks has increased significantly, according to HSBC Holdings.

“China’s policy support and lower-than-expected US economic data have spurred inflows of foreign capital,” said Zhang Yusheng, an analyst at Everbright Securities in Shanghai. “The valuations in China’s markets are at a relatively low level and they are worthy of allocations.”

Foreign buying has been concentrated in consumer and financial stocks this year, the brokerage said without providing further details.

Outlook ‘significantly brighter’ as Hong Kong attracts investors from US, Japan shares

Overseas stock buying peaked last Friday, when a record 22.4 billion yuan was poured into yuan-traded shares through the cross-border schemes, Bloomberg data shows.

Meanwhile, global investors have also flocked back to Hong Kong’s market, where big Chinese technology companies such as Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the Post, trade. The Hang Seng Index surged by more than 7 per cent in April, and is ranked top among the world’s key stock markets this year.

The CSI 300 Index of Chinese stocks too rose 1.9 per cent for a third straight month of gains in April.

Hong Kong stocks round out biggest monthly gain since January 2023

China’s support for its US$9 trillion stock market entered a new stage last month, when the State Council issued a rare guideline document outlining a sweeping reform road map that will run until the middle of the century. The blueprint urges listed companies to boost returns to shareholders through buy-backs and dividend payouts, and calls for more regulatory scrutiny to better protect the interests of investors and to root out wrongdoings such as fraudulent listings.

It remains to be seen whether foreign inflows will be sustained in the long run, as concerns about China’s growth outlook persist. The picture of the economy in the first quarter was mixed, with investments beating estimates, but industrial production and retail sales falling short of projections.

Overseas buying is expected to carry on at least in the near future due to Chinese stocks’ valuation edge, Goldman Sachs said.

“China’s significant valuation discounts to global equities have started to manifest in its recent resilience/outperformance when its global peers are digesting a less-friendly growth and Fed combination, underscoring the diversification benefits from international investors staying engaged in China,” the US investment bank said in a report on Monday.

“Portfolio inflows have improved moderately in recent weeks, but positioning is still broadly conservative among investors.”