China’s Shanghai index is having its best year since 2014

CNN Wire

China’s Shanghai Composite is on pace to finish its best year since 2014.

The index was down 0.1% in early trading Tuesday, but has still risen 22% this year. That’s the best performance since the index recorded a 53% gain five years ago. That also makes it the year’s top performer among major Asian stock indexes.

It’s been a volatile year for Chinese stocks as the economy slows and as the US-China trade war has yet to reach a conclusion.

Stocks did surge in the first quarter, aided by the People’s Bank of China’s steps to boost economic growth and Beijing’s efforts to open up its financial markets. Trade tensions later caused the Shanghai index to fall for two consecutive quarters before it recovered losses in the home stretch of 2019.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which dropped 0.5% on Tuesday, is also poised to rise this year — albeit by a smaller 9%. Hong Kong markets were rattled by the trade war and by the city’s ongoing protests, but that hasn’t been enough to erase gains entirely.

Both markets will be closed Wednesday for the New Year holiday.

Here’s what else is happening in Asia at 10:45 a.m. Hong Kong time:

  • China’s factories performed slightly better than expected in December, according to government data released Tuesday. The official purchasing managers index for manufacturing reached 50.2 this month, the same as November’s figure and slightly better than the 50.1 expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv data. A reading above 50 indicates growth from the previous month.
  • China’s services sector also grew — non-manufacturing PMI registered at 53.5 in December. But that was slightly lower than November’s reading, indicating that the growth of services activity has slowed somewhat.
  • Japanese and South Korean markets remained closed Tuesday for New Year’s Eve.

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