Stock market grows sluggish in May By Xiao Sun (China Daily) Updated: 2004-06-16 08:47
China's stock market saw a sharp decline in transaction and market
capitalization in May, as fast market expansion and growing potential of a
near-term interest rate hike hurt the sentiment of investors.
According to statistics of the China Securities
Regulatory Commission (CSRC ),
transaction in the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses was 180 billion yuan (US$21.7
billion) in May, down by 65.5 per cent from April.
The overall capitalization of A shares and B shares also lost 106.2 billion
yuan (US$12.8 billion) in May to 4.47 trillion yuan (US$539.8 billion) by the
end of the month, CSRC statistics said.
Analysts said that the sluggish market performance was due to tightened fund
supply, mounting inflationary pressure and a slew of fund embezzlement scandals
that have eroded investor confidence.
Last month, 10 companies kicked off A share offerings in Shanghai, raising
5.2 billion yuan (US$628 million) from the bourses, up 338 per cent on a
year-on-year basis. Some listed companies also launched refinancing projects,
collecting 5.8 billion yuan (US$700 million) via rights share and convertible
bond offerings during the month.
That further decreased the market liquidity, which is already limited as the
banking authorities tightened the money bases, said Li Yong, head of the
research institute of Everbright Securities.
Moreover, China's macro economic figures point to a growing trend of
inflation, as the consumer price index rose by 4.4 per cent last month, which
added to the possibility of an interest rate hike.
The market panicked on the uncertainty of economic trends, Li said. Talks of
an impending launch of the qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII)
scheme further dampened market sentiment as the scheme would divert more funds
from the domestic market to overseas.
Liu Qingshan, a fund manager with ABN AMRO Fund Management Co, said that
investors had over-reacted to the expectation of an interest rate hike and the
QDII launch and should become more rational later on.