After yesterday’s nearly unanimous gains, the lower-than-expected manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index report today has led to across-the-board losses. Declines ranged from 3.43% in the case of Noble Group to a marginal 0.08% for SAIC Motor. The problem was, not only was the PMI index lower than expected, but coming in at 49.6, it indicated contraction. If so, the Chinese economy may well be slowing faster than expected. It may be that with Chinese New Year coming up, purchases are being delayed, but give liquidity worries, it could equally be that businesses are holding off on investment until the business and macroeconomic environment stabilizes.
The other really interesting story concerns a judge ruling that the Chinese units of the “Big 4” auditors (Ernst & Young, KMPG, Deloitte and PwC) should barred from auditing US-listed companies for six months. The stand-off over their refusal to pass documents to the Securities Commission has been rumbling on for some time, and while it may seem esoteric, comes down to the ability of the US to control and administer its markets as it sees fit. It is an intriguing case of two nations with deep-seated belief in their exceptionalism. As Prof Gillis notes, the consequence may well be state-owned enterprises withdrawing from their US listings.
The Shanghai Composite fell 9.57 points (or -0.47%) to close at 2,042.18.
| Name | Price | Change | Mkt cap | 52wk high | 52wk low | EPS | P/E |
| Sinopec | 4.58 | -0.07 (-1.51%) | 533,869.13M | 7.03 | 4.05 | CN¥0.62 | 7.45 |
| PetroChina | 7.62 | -0.07 (-0.91%) | 1.39B | 9.5 | 7.08 | CN¥0.68 | 11.28 |
| ICBC | 3.41 | -0.02 (-0.58%) | 1.20B | 4.53 | 3.38 | CN¥0.74 | 4.64 |
| China Construction Bank | 3.92 | -0.04 (-1.01%) | 980,043.05M | 5.19 | 3.8 | CN¥0.85 | 4.63 |
| Agricultural Bank | 2.37 | -0.02 (-0.84%) | 769,762.02M | 3.28 | 2.35 | CN¥0.50 | 4.72 |
| Bank of China | 2.49 | -0.02 (-0.80%) | 695,617.74M | 3.26 | 2.45 | CN¥0.53 | 4.69 |
| China Mobile | 77.00* | -0.65 (-0.84%) | 1.55B | 89.2 | 74.9 | HK$8.20 | 9.39 |
| Noble Group | 0.985 | -0.035 (-3.43%) | 6,527.67M | 1.27 | 0.785 | SGD0.04 | 26.99 |
| China State Construction | 3.02 | -0.05 (-1.63%) | 90,600.00M | 4.18 | 2.9 | CN¥0.62 | 4.9 |
| CNOOC | 12.74* | -0.12 (-0.93%) | 568,808.58M | 16.52 | 12.04 | HK$1.89 | 6.73 |
| China Railway Construction | 4.23 | -0.07 (-1.63%) | 52,187.80M | 6.25 | 3.95 | CN¥0.84 | 5.02 |
| China Railway Group | 2.45 | -0.03 (-1.21%) | 52,184.76M | 3.36 | 2.3 | CN¥0.44 | 5.59 |
| SAIC Motor | 13.08 | -0.01 (-0.08%) | 144,214.41M | 19 | 11.83 | CN¥2.05 | 6.38 |
| China Life Insurance | 14.51 | -0.13 (-0.89%) | 410,120.88M | 22 | 12.88 | CN¥0.97 | 15.01 |
| Dongfeng Motor | 11.44* | -0.14 (-1.21%) | 98,568.41M | 13.28 | 9.48 | HK$1.38 | 8.31 |
| China Shenhua | 14.26 | -0.13 (-0.90%) | 283,625.99M | 25.28 | 13.97 | CN¥2.25 | 6.33 |
| Ping An Insurance | 41 | -0.81 (-1.94%) | 324,561.83M | 53.27 | 31.69 | CN¥3.45 | 11.89 |
| China Telecom | 3.66* | -0.05 (-1.35%) | 296,212.48M | 4.4 | 3.48 | HK$0.26 | 14.16 |
| China Communications Construction | 3.86 | -0.03 (-0.77%) | 62,434.48M | 5.79 | 3.74 | CN¥0.81 | 4.77 |
| Bank of Communications | 3.75 | -0.03 (-0.79%) | 278,485.22M | 5.68 | 3.65 | CN¥0.84 | 4.45 |
