We all need to escape from time to time away from life’s grim realities. For whatever reason, maybe because of the weak economy or the nerve-wracking, roller-coaster sessions at the stock market, Chinese consumers are watching more movies, as box office receipts were up in the first half of 2015. Take note, more than half of the earnings were from foreign movies like “Furious 7.”
Chinese shares remain in doldrums despite various measures launched this week by the government. The most recent is the suspension of short sellers for a month, and the launch of a probe on suspected stock market manipulation, according to Reuters and other media outlets.
The continued slide in Chinese equities drove some investors to Hong Kong’s ETFs, according to Bloomberg. The downturn, which started mid-June, has wiped out $2.4 trillion in value, the Bloomberg report added, which is quite a large sum, come to think of it.
Maybe because of the instability of the equities market, some rich Chinese are now setting their sights on Japanese properties, adding to inflationary pressures on the property market. Read on…
Shanghai shares end lower, marking the worst 3-week performance in 23 years. In another volatile session, with the Shanghai Composite Index see-sawing from red to black, the index closed down 5.8%. From its June 12 peak, the index is now down nearly 30%, deeper than the 20% plunge recorded on Monday (also from the June 12 peak), when Chinese shares officially entered the bear market territory. Hong Kong was last seen down 0.5% and Japan closed flat. Bloomberg, CNBC
Rich Chinese now eye Japan’s property market. After descending in Australia, Canada and the U.S., the wealthy Chinese are now invading Japan’s real estate sector, driving up prices. A real estate agent noted that Chinese buyers are now about 20% more in number than in the same period last year. Bloomberg
Grexit scares investors away. Greece’s possible exit from the euro zone drove investors away from global funds, as they pulled out $1.2 billion in the week ending July 1, the first recorded outflow in eight weeks. Financial Times (paywall)
Chinese appetite for foreign films is rising. Imported films accounted for 53% of China’s total box office receipts of $3.3 billion in January-June this year — up 50% from a year ago. This was a reversal from two years ago, when Hollywood films were losing their market share in the country. “Furious 7”, “Jurassic World”, were among the big winners. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
China services sector slows in June. The HSBC China PMI for the service sector fell to 51.8 last month from 53.5 in May, hinting of a sluggish economic growth in the second quarter. Along with a still downbeat manufacturing sector, the overall economic outlook is looking grim. MarketWatch
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