18.05.202602:39:54UTC+00China Stocks Gain on Tech Boost

The Shanghai Composite inched up 0.2% to 4,143 on Monday, while the Shenzhen Component added 0.3% to close at 15,610, as gains in technology shares offset a series of disappointing economic indicators.

Tech stocks led the advance, with heavyweight Zhongji Innolight rising 2%, NAURA Technology climbing 4.9%, Victory Giant Technology up 1.3%, and Huagong Tech surging 10%. The sector was buoyed by anticipation ahead of Nvidia’s earnings release later this week, widely viewed as a key barometer for the AI and semiconductor industries.

On the macroeconomic front, April retail sales growth slowed sharply to 0.2% year-on-year, undershooting expectations and marking the weakest pace since December 2022. Industrial production also lost steam, easing to 4.1% and missing forecasts, its slowest growth since July 2023, as repercussions from the Iran war weighed on China’s economic momentum.

In contrast, labor market data showed a modest improvement, with the unemployment rate edging down to 5.2% in April, a three-month low, from 5.4% in March, which had been a thirteen-month high.