New | Chinese markets end little changed after release of China Q3 GDP number, HK also flat
Mainland and Hong Kong stocks kick off the week in a holding pattern following data showing consumer spending and GDP growth a little higher than expected
Mainland and Hong Kong shares ended little changed Monday after Chinese economic data came in largely on target while retail sales data showed consumer spending remains resilient.
The Hang Seng Index ended fractional higher, tacking on 0.04 per cent to 23.076. The mainland-Chinese tracking H-share index advanced by 0.5 per cent to 10,688. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.1 per cent to 3,387, while the Shenzhen Composite edged up 0.1 per cent to 11,391.
China’s statistics bureau said on Monday that gross domestic product rose by 6.9 per cent in the third quarter on year, in inflation-adjusted terms, easing from 7 per cent growth on year in the first half and 7.3 per cent in the same period in 2014. The result was the slowest quarterly growth rate since the first quarter of 2009.
“This was slightly stronger than expected (both the Bloomberg median and our forecast were 6.8 per cent). In seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, growth edged up from 1.7% in the second quarter to 1.8% last quarter,” Julian Evans-Pritchard, China Economist, Capital Economics said in a note following the data release.
Director of VC Brokerage Louis Tse Ming-kwong said the market welcomed the GDP data, even as the milder figures pointed to a slower-growth era for the world’s second-largest economy.
“Last time the GDP figure came in, it went down more than expected… and the market went down to lower levels but not this time,” he said.
