Manufacturing Activity Ticks Higher in China, But Misses Expectations

China continues to shake off the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic as it released its latest manufacturing figures. While activity did tick higher, it fell short of analysts’ expectations.

“China on Monday announced that manufacturing activity expanded in the month of August as the country continued to recover from the coronavirus pandemic,” a CNBC article noted. “The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) for the month of August came in at 51.0 as compared to 51.1 in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. However, the pace of expansion missed expectations. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected August PMI to come in at 51.2.”

“Manufacturing rebounded most quickly. It didn’t require as much social distancing, it wasn’t as sensitive to social distancing so activity was rebounding more quickly there, and as such is now decelerating after the initial strong rebound,” said Andrew Tilton, chief Asia Pacific economist at Goldman Sachs.

Nonetheless, ETF investors looking to get Chinese equity exposure can consider the Xtrackers MSCI All China Equity ETF (CN). CN seeks investment results that correspond to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI China All Shares Index, which is designed to capture large- and mid-capitalization representation across all China securities listed in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

Manufacturing Activity Ticks Higher in China, But Misses Expectations 1

Here are two more options to consider as China continues its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic:

  1. Xtrackers CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (NYSEArca: ASHR): seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the CSI 300 Index. The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in securities of issuers that comprise the underlying index. The underlying index is designed to reflect the price fluctuation and performance of the China A-Share market and is composed of the 300 largest and most liquid stocks in the China A-Share market. The underlying index includes small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap stocks.
  2. Xtrackers MSCI China A Inclusion Equity ETF (NYSEArca: ASHX): The investment seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI China A Inclusion Index. The fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in securities (including depositary receipts in respect of such securities) of issuers that comprise the underlying index. The underlying index is designed to track the equity market performance of China A-Shares that are accessible through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program or the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect program.

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