From ZeroHedge:
Chinese stocks slid into bear market territory after manufacturing activity contracted for a second month in May. The dismal data is more evidence that the post-Covid recovery in the second-largest economy in the world is faltering. Bad data might suggest additional policy easing is needed to prop up economic growth.
On Wednesday, the National Bureau of Statistics announced that China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index had dropped to 48.8 in May, down from 49.2 in April. This was the lowest reading since December 2022 and missed the median estimate of 49.5 in a Bloomberg survey of economists. It also marked the second consecutive month the index printed sub-50.
Meanwhile, China's non-manufacturing PMI fell to 54.5 in May from 56.4 in April, also missing economists' expectations.
PMI data shows the post-Covid economic recovery is slowing after a surge in consumer activity earlier in the year after draconian lockdowns were lifted. Bloomberg noted:
Exports remain weak, a rebound in the property market has faded and the government has slowed spending on infrastructure. Businesses are also being hit by falling profits and heightened tensions with the US and its allies....
....MUCH MORE
Yeah, but other than that...
That gets us back to May 15.
