Chinese shares dip lower in morning trade on unfavorable economic data
11/12/2008 15:27
Chinese shares finished the morning session slightly lower today, after
unfavorable economic data announced this week weighed upon investor
confidence.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said today that the
country's consumer price index (CPI) rose at a slower annual rate of 2.4 percent
in November.
The inflation figure was the latest among a slew of figures
announced this week as fresh indicators of slowdown in the country's economy and
slumping external demand.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.31
percent, or 6.42 points, to 2,072.69 at noon. The smaller Shenzhen index,
however, rose 28.38 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 7,518.66.
But the
aviation sector bucked the trend on announcement of capital injection
plans.
China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, both major
state-owned carriers in the country, rose by the daily limit of nearly 10
percent in the morning, after the two firms unveiled plans late yesterday to
receive three billion yuan of capital injection each from government.
China
Southern rose 9.91 percent to 3.66 yuan, and China Eastern was up 9.92 percent
to finish at 4.32 yuan.
The Chinese government said yesterday that exports
dropped 2.2 percent year-on-year in November, the first monthly decline since
June 2001, while foreign direct investment plunged 36.52 percent
year-on-year.
China's producer price index, a measure of inflation at the
factory level, decelerated sharply to an annual rise of 2 percent in November.
The latest CPI and PPI figures had prompted worries over deflation
risks.
However, the three-day Central Economic Conference that ended
yesterday had pledged to maintain stable, healthy growth next year through
domestic demand expansion and economic restructuring.
The conference that
gathered the country's top leaders also vowed to maintain the "stable and
healthy" development of the market.
Xinhua
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