China’s Retail Sales Surged 5.1% in April, Yet Stocks Stay Put!

TradingKey – Despite a strong 5.1% increase in China's retail sales, the stock market remains uninspired and continues its downward trend.  

On Monday, May 19, China's National Bureau of Statistics released data indicating that the country’s April retail sales totaled ¥3.7174 trillion, reflecting a 5.1% year-on-year increase.  

- Retail sales excluding automobiles reached ¥3.3548 trillion, growing 5.6%.  

- Cumulative retail sales for January-April stood at ¥16.1845 trillion, marking a 4.7% increase compared to the previous year.  

- Non-auto retail sales for the first four months hit ¥14.7005 trillion, up 5.2%.  

Despite positive economic data, China’s stock market opened lower and continued declining throughout the day.  

As of publication, key market indices showed no significant reaction to the retail sales report:  

- Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.13% to 3,362 points.  

- Shenzhen Component Index dropped 0.41% to 10,139 points.  

- ChiNext Index declined 0.53% to 2,028 points.