Financial Services

China stocks stumble on oil plunge, mixed data


* SSEC -0.06 pct, CSI300 -0.14 pct, HSI -0.13 pct

* Energy shares fall on oil plunge

* New data drives losses in consumer firms, gains in industrials

SHANGHAI, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Shares in China fell on Wednesday led by losses in energy and financial firms on a combination of plunging oil prices and weak lending and consumer data, but strong industrial output results for October helped trim losses.

** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was down 1.64 points, or 0.06 percent, at 2,653.24. ** China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.14 percent, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 0.16 percent and the healthcare sub-index down 0.09 percent. ** China’s credit growth slowed sharply in October, despite pressure by regulators on banks to help keep cash-starved companies afloat, pointing to further weakening in the economy. ** Data released Wednesday showed China’s industrial output and fixed-asset investment rose more than expected in the first 10 months of 2018, but retail sales were weaker than anticipated. Meanwhile, growth in China’s real estate investment in October cooled to a 10-month low and home sales fell. ** Oil prices plunged by 7 percent on Tuesday amid surging supply and as investors worry about faltering demand. Cheap oil pulled energy stocks lower, with a sub-index tracking the sector falling 1.64 percent. An energy sub-index in Hong Kong fell 3.32 percent. ** A sub-index of the CSI300 tracking consumer staples firms dropped 1.28 percent. ** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 0.45 percent to 10,431.83, while the Hang Seng Index was down 0.13 percent at 25,758.06. ** The smaller Shenzhen index was up 0.34 percent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.35 percent. ** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.21 percent while Japan’s Nikkei index was up 0.25 percent. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.9495 per U.S. dollar, 0.11 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.957. ** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Zhongmin Energy Co Ltd, up 10.09 percent, followed by Harbin Hatou Investment Co Ltd, gaining 10.08 percent and Jiangsu Wuzhong Industrial Co Ltd, up by 10.08 percent. ** The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were China Petroleum Engineering Corp, down 6 percent, followed by Kingclean Electric Co Ltd, losing 4.93 percent and DELIXI XINJIANG Transportation Co Ltd, down by 4.83 percent. ** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 19.72 percent, while China’s H-share index is down 10.5 percent. Shanghai stocks have risen 2 percent this month. ** The top gainers among H-shares were ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance Co Ltd, up 4.5 percent, followed by Air China Ltd, gaining 4.07 percent and China Telecom Corp Ltd, up by 2.81 percent. ** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were CNOOC Ltd, which has fallen 4.65 percent, PetroChina Co Ltd , which has lost 3.4 percent and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, down by 3.3 percent. ** About 14.39 billion shares have traded so far on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 89.4 percent of the market’s 30-day moving average of 16.10 billion shares a day. The volume traded was 24.93 billion as of the last full trading day. ** As of 04:12 GMT, China’s A-shares were trading at a premium of 18.25 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. ** The Shanghai stock index is below its 50-day moving average and below its 200-day moving average. ** The price-to-earnings ratio of the Shanghai index was 11.08 as of the last full trading day, while the dividend yield was 2.8 percent. ** So far this week, the market capitalisation of the Shanghai stock index has risen by 2.16 percent to 28.40 trillion yuan. ** In Hong Kong, the top gainer on the Hang Seng was Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, up 3.06 percent, while the biggest loser was CNOOC Ltd, which was down 4.65 percent.

Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier



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