|
BIZCHINA> Center
![]() |
|
Related
Mainland stocks hit by economy fears
(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-05 10:18
![]() The mainland's major stock index fell more than 2 percent yesterday and turnover in Shanghai A shares shrank to its lowest level since December 2006 as concern about the slowing economy continued to drive investors from the market. The Shanghai Composite Index ended down 2.14 percent at 2741.74 points, near its intra-day low of 2738.85. Turnover in Shanghai A shares shrank to 37.4 billion yuan from Friday's 50.6 billion yuan. Steel shares, which have been sliding since early last week because of concern that a slowing economy could dampen product prices, led the drop. Industry leader Baoshan Iron & Steel lost 4.92 percent to 7.54 yuan, after falling 7.79 percent last week. Many investors believe authorities do not want the market to fall sharply during this month's Beijing Olympics. But they worry that stocks could resume a downtrend after the Olympics because of the economic outlook and large supplies of fresh equity due to expiring lock-up periods. In one positive signal, the asset management arm of Belgian financial services provider KBC Groep was told by the foreign exchange regulator yesterday that it was being given a $150 million quota to invest in China's capital markets under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Some fund managers think other such quotas could be awarded in coming days as part of official efforts to improve market sentiment during the Olympics. But the quotas do not necessarily mean any immediate campaign of aggressive buying of mainland stocks by foreign funds. HK shares slide Hong Kong shares slid 1.5 percent yesterday in thin turnover, with bleak jobs data from the US intensifying recession worries and higher oil prices expected to further erode company profits. Resources stocks and related counters also fell on concern that a slowdown in the Chinese economy could curb its voracious appetite for commodities. The Hang Seng Index closed down 1.5 percent at 22514.92. Container and port operators slid on increasingly negative forecasts from analysts on global trade. The Baltic Dry Index, which gauges changes in the price of shipping commodities, has been on the decline for more than 3 weeks, giving up 11 percent since July 10.
![]() (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
|
绥阳县| 资中县| 奉新县| 拉孜县| 蒲城县| 彰化市| 吉隆县| 合山市| 三门峡市| 拉孜县| 电白县| 塔河县| 大化| 肥东县| 页游| 勃利县| 广汉市| 陇川县| 山西省| 连江县| 富源县| 华亭县| 运城市| 大兴区| 宁武县| 武隆县| 凤山市| 中方县| 阜南县| 青铜峡市| 宣武区| 绥阳县| 大姚县| 抚远县| 随州市| 武穴市| 攀枝花市| 大冶市| 明水县| 海安县| 元朗区|