BEIJING: China’s stocks fell for a second day after better-than-expected economic data failed to boost investor confidence in the world’s worst-performing equity market and more companies resumed trading.
The Shanghai Composite Index slumped 2.7 percent to 3,819.84 at 1:07 p.m., led by industrial companies. Juneyao Airlines Co. plunged 10 percent as it resumed trading after announcing a private share sale. About eight stocks dropped for every two that rose in Shanghai. The number of halted companies fell by 96 from Tuesday to 689, or 24 percent of overall listings on mainland exchanges.
The benchmark equity index has declined 25 percent over the past month, the biggest loss among 93 gauges globally tracked by Bloomberg, as margin traders unwound bets after a 150 percent rally by the Shanghai Composite over the previous 12 months. Gross domestic product rose 7 percent in the second quarter, government data showed on Wednesday, compared with economist estimates of 6.8 percent in a Bloomberg survey.
“There’s a lack of confidence in the market’s sustainable rally after a big rout,” said Jimmy Zuo, a Shenzhen-based trader at Guosen Securities Co. “There should be a visible improvement in the economy and corporate earnings to bring back solid investor confidence to the market.”
The CSI 300 Index lost 2.9 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid 1.3 percent, while the Hang Seng Index dropped 0.6 percent. The ChiNext plunged 3.5 percent, halting a five-day, 16 percent rally.
