China stocks record first monthly loss in 2019, as foreign capital heads for exit
- The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.5 per cent higher at 3,078.34
- The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.7 per cent to 29,699.11
China stocks rose on Tuesday despite disappointing April manufacturing activity data, with pork producers leading the advance.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.5 per cent higher at 3,078.34, bringing the month’s loss to 0.4 per cent. This is the benchmark’s first losing month in 2019, on the back of a world-beating 24 per cent gain over the first quarter.
The Shenzhen Component Index and the ChiNext Index both gained 0.5 per cent.
Northbound capital trading the China markets through the Connect cross-border investment channel recorded a net outflow of 18 billion yuan (US$2.7 billion) in April, the biggest monthly outflow since July 2015 in the aftermath of China’s stock market crash.
Turnover in Shanghai and Shenzhen totalled 497 billion yuan, thinning from the 646 billion yuan on Monday. Markets in the mainland are closed for a public holiday for the remainder of this week and will reopen on Monday.
The gains came after China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) recorded a surprise fall in April, suggesting that factory activity remained weak and the government may need to strengthen its stimulus policies to stabilise a slowing economy.
