China Market falls 0.5%

The Mainland China equity market were down on Tuesday, 06 November 2018, with investors becoming cautious over the course of U.S.-China trade friction and cautious over the U.S. mid-term elections which may change the White House's policy direction on trade. Market losses were, however, limited as regulatory changes revives hopes of A-share buyback. In late afternoon trades, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.48%, or 12.88 points, to 2,652.55, meanwhile the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, dropped 0.66%, or 8.89 points, to 1,342.11. The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.86%, or 27.91 points, to 3,234.93.

Recent turmoil in the Chinese mainland stock market and changes to the regulations have spurred a strong trend of stock buybacks on the A-share market, as companies move to inject confidence in their stocks. The number of companies that have announced plans to repurchase their stocks as well as the total value involved have grew exponentially this year, particularly in the second half of the year, when the mainland stock market started to see wild volatility, data showed. As of November 1, 866 companies have announced plans to buyback a total of nearly 15 billion A shares, compared to 383 companies in 2017 that purchased a total of about 2 billion A shares, according to financial data provider Wind.

 

Most investors are on hold, as they keep an eye on the outcome of the mid-terms and its impact on Trump's trade policy. The U.S. elections are widely seen as a referendum on Republican President Donald Trump's first two years in the White House, with his party favoured to retain its majority in the U.S. Senate and while the opposition Democrats are expected to capture a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Investors across the world are closely watching the elections, as policy decisions that could sway the economy, corporate decision-making and consumer spending hinge on the results.

CURRENCY NEWS: China's yuan depreciated against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, inline with soft mid-point fixing by central bank. Prior to market open, the People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.9075 per dollar, weaker than the previous fix 6.8976. The offshore yuan was trading 0.04 percent away from the onshore spot at 6.9203 per dollar.

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