China stocks hit new low this year as investor confidence remains depressed

BEIJING: Chinese stocks hit a new low for the year on Thursday, dragged by consumer-related shares as investor confidence remained depressed despite signs that parts of the economy are stabilising. Hong Kong shares also fell.

China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index closed down 2.1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.7%, both touching their lowest levels this year.

Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 2.5%.

Data on Wednesday suggested the economy is stabilising, but analysts and investors are still concerned if the economy has truly bottomed out, with the property sector mired in a deep contraction.

"We believe it is still too early to call the bottom as pent-up demand for travel and gatherings may fade notably after the Golden Week holiday and the property sector has yet to truly recover," said Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura.

"Market confidence in China's economy remains depressed," Lu said.

China's biggest private property developer Country Garden on Wednesday was due to pay a coupon on a bond, but bondholders told Reuters they were yet to receive it. Non-payment would put the developer at risk of default.

Meanwhile, liquor shares were down 3.4%, dragging consumer-related stocks.

Shares of liquor giant Kweichow Moutai, dropped 5.7%, logging their largest daily loss in nearly a year.

Foreign capital recorded net outflows of 11.7 billion yuan ($1.60 billion) via the northbound trading, the largest daily outflow in two months.

While most sectors declined, semiconductor shares were up 1.1%.

In Hong Kong, electric vehicle makers Xpeng and Nio slumped more than 8%, following their American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) in New York.

Nio is considering building a dealer network in Europe to speed up sales growth, sources told Reuters.

Tech giants traded in Hong Kong were also down 1.9%. ($1 = 7.3157 Chinese yuan renminbi)