The Mainland China market closed session lower on Monday, 16 May 2022, as investors risk sentiments turned downbeat after the latest domestic economic data showed China's economic activity cooled sharply in April as COVID-19 lockdowns took a heavy toll on consumption, industrial production and employment.
Market losses were, however, capped after reports that Shanghai's plan to lift most COVID-19 curbs after a weeks-long lockdown. The Chinese financial hub aims to reopen broadly and allow normal life to resume from June 1, after declaring that 15 of its 16 districts had eliminated cases outside quarantine areas.
At close of trade, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.34%, or 10.53 points, to 3,073.75. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, sank 0.28%, or 5.44 points, to 1,926.01. The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.8%, or 32.06 points, to 3,956.54.
China's April retail sales plunged 11.1% versus a year earlier, while industrial output fell 2.9%. Data on Friday showed new bank lending in China hit its lowest level in nearly four-and-a-half years in April, as the pandemic jolted the economy and weakened credit demand.
Shanghai set out plans for a return of more normal life from June 1 and for the end of a painful COVID-19 lockdown that has lasted more than six weeks. To prop up the property sector, the central bank cut the lower limit of interest rates on home loans for first-time purchasers by 20 basis points, based on Loan Prime Rates.
CURRENCY NEWS: China's yuan hovered just off a 20-month low against the dollar on Monday. Prior to market opening, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC at 6.7871 per dollar, 27 pips firmer than the previous fix 6.7898. In the spot market, the onshore yuan CNY=CFXS opened at 6.7839 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.7925 at midday, 25 pips weaker than the previous late session close.
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