Stock market crash LIVE: Chinese stocks end down despite strong economic data

Chinese equities ended the trading session in negative territory on Monday, following the global market trend, as concerns about a potential recession in the United States drove investors away from risky assets. This occurred despite data indicating an acceleration in China’s services activity growth in July. Investors worldwide sought refuge in safer bonds after discouraging U.S. economic data raised doubts about the Federal Reserve’s ability to achieve a soft landing and whether more aggressive interest rate cuts are necessary to prevent a slowdown in the largest economy globally.

In China, the second-largest economy worldwide, the Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increased to 52.1 in July from 51.2 in June, signaling expansion for the 19th consecutive month, supported by new orders. However, the momentum in overseas demand slowed to its weakest pace in 11 months, according to a private-sector survey released on Monday.

Despite this, China’s growth in the second quarter was significantly slower than anticipated, and the country is grappling with deflationary pressures and a prolonged property market downturn. Retail sales growth in June slowed to its weakest pace since early 2023.

At the close of trading, the Shanghai Composite index declined by 1.54% to 2,860.70, while the blue-chip CSI300 index fell by 1.21%. The financial sector sub-index of the CSI300 was down 0.48%, the consumer staples sector gained 1.32%, the real estate index remained flat, and the healthcare sub-index lost 0.26%. The smaller Shenzhen index closed 2.08% lower, and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index weakened by 1.893%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 247.15 points, or 1.46%, to close at 16,698.36, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.64% to 5,876.64. The energy shares sub-index of the Hang Seng dipped 4.9%, the IT sector slipped 0.68%, the financial sector ended 2.12% lower, and the property sector rose 2.18%.
Across the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index weakened by 4.18%, and Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 12.4%.