China’s Big Stock Boom Does Little to Boost Holiday Spending

China’s longest stock rally in years has done little to encourage households to shell out more money during a major holiday this month, a worry for an economy already entering a slowdown.

After the summer ended with two of the weakest months for retail sales this year, preliminary figures showed consumer demand cooling further during the eight-day Golden Week that started Oct. 1. Sales at key retailers and restaurants grew just 3.3% during the first four days of the holiday, according to the Commerce Ministry, nearly half the growth pace seen during the Labor Day break in May.