Foreign investors loaded up on Chinese stocks for a third straight month in April, adding to evidence that global fund managers have become more positive about the world’s second-largest market.
Overseas traders bought a total of 6.02 billion yuan (US$831 million) of yuan-traded shares through the cross-border Stock Connect programmes with Hong Kong, adding to net buying of 82.7 billion yuan during the previous two months, according to Bloomberg data. The three consecutive months of inflows are the longest streak of foreign buying in a year, the data shows.
Global money managers extended their purchases after China’s economy exhibited more signs of stabilising and regulators ramped up policy support to prop up stocks. Meanwhile, a rebalancing of global assets has also stoked demand for Chinese assets, which are trading at depressed valuations at a time when diminished expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve are roiling markets from the United States to Japan.
“China’s policy support and lower-than-expected US economic data have spurred inflows of foreign capital,” said Zhang Yusheng, an analyst at Everbright Securities in Shanghai. “The valuations in China’s markets are at a relatively low level and they are worthy of allocations.”
Foreign buying has been concentrated in consumer and financial stocks this year, the brokerage said without providing further details.
Outlook ‘significantly brighter’ as Hong Kong attracts investors from US, Japan shares
Outlook ‘significantly brighter’ as Hong Kong attracts investors from US, Japan shares
Overseas stock buying peaked last Friday, when a record 22.4 billion yuan was poured into yuan-traded shares through the cross-border schemes, Bloomberg data shows.
The CSI 300 Index of Chinese stocks too rose 1.9 per cent for a third straight month of gains in April.
Hong Kong stocks round out biggest monthly gain since January 2023
Hong Kong stocks round out biggest monthly gain since January 2023
It remains to be seen whether foreign inflows will be sustained in the long run, as concerns about China’s growth outlook persist. The picture of the economy in the first quarter was mixed, with investments beating estimates, but industrial production and retail sales falling short of projections.
Overseas buying is expected to carry on at least in the near future due to Chinese stocks’ valuation edge, Goldman Sachs said.
“China’s significant valuation discounts to global equities have started to manifest in its recent resilience/outperformance when its global peers are digesting a less-friendly growth and Fed combination, underscoring the diversification benefits from international investors staying engaged in China,” the US investment bank said in a report on Monday.
“Portfolio inflows have improved moderately in recent weeks, but positioning is still broadly conservative among investors.”