China stocks retreat as money and credit data misses expectations

SHANGHAI — China’s blue chips closed down on Friday after scaling their highest level in more than four months in the previous session, with some investors taking profits after November money and credit data missed analyst expectations.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.5%, to 5,055.12, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 3,666.35 points.

** For the week, the CSI300 Index gained 3.1% while the Shanghai Composite Index added 1.6%. Both had their best week in three months.

** New bank lending in China rose less than expected in November from the previous month even as the central bank seeks to bolster slowing growth in the world’s second-biggest economy.

** “The weaker-than-expected money and credit data suggests credit demand remains weak amid the ongoing growth slowdown,” Nomura said in a note.

** The CSI300 index rose for a third consecutive session on Thursday, buoyed by a cut to the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks to bolster slowing economic growth.

** China saw record weekly foreign money inflows of 73.35 billion yuan ($11.52 billion) into its stock market through the Stock Connect schemes, according to East Money Information Co .

** Concerns around defaults in the property market and ADR delisting weighed on sentiment, but A-shares are more protected, having no exposure to ADRs and a tendency to react more positively to RRR cuts, according to Morgan Stanley.

** Real estate developers dropped 1.7%, while brokers and coal miners lost 1.5% each.

** New energy vehicles (NEV) gained 1.2%, as sales of NEV grew 121% to 450,000 units in November amid China’s push to cut pollution.

(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Kevin Liffey)