China stock markets remained largely unruffled in April amid wild gyrations in global bourses
China's stock markets in April were shadowed by the specter of US President Donald Trump's erratic tariff policies but escaped the wild swings than rocked most major global bourses.
Trader sentiment was underpinned by China's resolute refusal to buckle under the 145 percent "bully" tariffs imposed by Trump, and by government policies shoring up the economy and helping sectors affected by the trade war. Chinese leaders called the nation a stable force amid global chaos.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index retreated 2.12 percent in April. Its worst daily performance of the month came on April 7, when it fell 7.34 percent in tandem with a wave of deep losses in global markets responding to the contentious US tariffs on trading partners.
For the month, China trading was bolstered by shares in state-owned companies, technology and consumption-related companies.
The Shenzhen Component Index lost 5.75 percent in April, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 4.33 percent.
"China's stock markets were relatively flat in the past two weeks because there was no substantial progress in the tariff issue – a sharp comparison to what happened in the dramatic days when the trade war started," said He Ning, chief economic analyst at Kaiyuan Securities Co.
"World markets are still heavily impacted by every development in trade tensions and by the attitudes of major countries in this invisible war," she added.
With one day left of what has been rollercoaster month of trading in the US, the S&P 500 was down 0.91 percent for April. The Dow Jones shed 3.5 percent, and the Nasdaq eked out a 0.9 percent gain. US markets have somewhat recovered from sometimes steep losses earlier in the month.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei edged up 1.2 percent in April, and South Korea's Kospi rose 3.04 percent. Both countries are heavily affected by the US tariffs.
For most individual investors, trying to predict what the quixotic Trump will say or do on any given day that might affect markets is a fool's errand.
"I am fed up with the ridiculous twists and turns of the past month when Trump seems to be playing a game of words," said Edith Huang, a banker in Shanghai who has converted most of her investment assets to gold.
Indeed, gold has become a safe haven for many investors amid all the turmoil, though its price eased back from a record of around US$3,500 in April as obsession with tariffs eased somewhat.
In Wednesday trading, the Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.23 percent to end at 3,279.03. Markets in China will be closed the next five days for the Labor Day holiday.
