BEIJING: China stocks fell on Monday with thin buying interest as a survey showed weak factory activity and some investors stayed on the sideline for a breather after mainland shares suffered their worst monthly loss in six years in July.
Factory activity in China shrank more than initially estimated in July, contracting by the most in two years, a private survey showed on Monday.
China’s markets regulator has suspended a trading account of U.S.-based hedge fund Citadel LLC, the fund said on Monday, in the watchdog’s first known move against a big foreign investor as it battles to prop up China’s ailing stock markets.
“Buying interest was very thin, while concerns over fundamentals such as measures to deal with slowing economy are still haunting the market,” said Steven Leung, a director at UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong. “Investors lacked confidence as the latest data showed no sign of improvement.”
Growth at China’s big manufacturing companies unexpectedly stalled in July as demand at home and abroad weakened, an official survey showed on Saturday.
The CSI300 index fell 1.4 percent, to 3,763.42 points at the end of the morning, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.4 percent to 3,574.80 points.
China CSI300 stock index futures for August fell 1.2 percent to 3,615.4, or 148.02 points below the index’s current value.
The official China Securities Journal reported on Monday that the country’s securities regulator will strengthen supervision of programme trading.
Analysts said investors in Hong Kong awaited major earning reports.
China Mengniu Dairy and Ping An Insurance led falls, sending the Hang Seng index down 1.1 percent to 24,372.64 points.
