Defensive Tilt in China Stocks Shows Sentiment Is Shifting
- Utilities among best performers as markets brace for slowdown
- Rally in technology stocks has faded since a February peak
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Stocks that drove China’s world-beating rally in the past five weeks are now lagging the market, a sign that that bullish sentiment is fading.
Mainland investors are going on the defensive: among this week’s top-performing industries in the CSI 300 Index have been utilities -- used by stock investors as bond-proxies, as well as consumer staples and telecom shares. The industries typically perform better during periods of slower growth, unlike the highly cyclical tech and material groups.