Market in China : Big Divergences Make China Stocks Look Higher

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Editor

Two Big Divergences
US China Large Caps Diverging
Market In China

Market In China – Two Big Divergences

Despite the fact that the US market is roaring, the Chinese market still looks to be rather Ursine (a fancy Latin work for bearish).

But wait- Is it really still a Bear Market for China stocks, or are the China markets looking up?

The Shanghai A shares- the China equivalent of our S&P 500, still looks pretty darn weak.

Market In China - Shanghai A Shares

There’s been a little bit of resurgence in this index. There’s also a week of trading missing as this market was closed last week for Chinese New Year, and they are just getting underway in China again.

This index is struggling to get through its 50DMA, which would confirm at least a short term up trend is getting underway. It’s not even close to its 200DMA, which would confirm a longer term bullish trend when we see those levels pierced.

The Shanghai A shares were down about 36% in 2011- as I like to say- an absolutely brutal year.

US China Large Caps Diverging the Market in China

The performance of the Shanghai A shares is anemic compared to China stocks trading with US listings.

Let’s start with the Granddaddy of all the ETFs- FXI is the China 25 Index fund- it represents China’s equivalent of the DOW, and contains the 25 largest public companies in China. These are the mega caps owned partially by the government.

Market In China - FXI

The FXI is showing far greater signs of life than the Shanghai A shares, having broken above its 50DMA in January, and well above its 200DMA, suggesting all is well in China Large Cap world.

Here’s the charts of two individual stocks that are still featured by EmergingChinaStocks- check out Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) and Sina Corp (NASDAQ: SINA).

Here’s the Google of China:

Market In China - Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU)

BIDU has been on a 25 point tear this year, and on Friday managed to trade above the 200DMA for the first time since November. I suspect the 200DMA will become resistance for a little while, but that stock looks headed to break through that barrier rather easily.

Market In China - Sina Corp (NASDAQ: SINA)

SINA is a little bit more like the Yahoo! of China with a lot of mobile and digital entertainment components.

As you can see, this stock has run up nearly 30 points in the last month, and is gunning for its 200DMA. SINA was one stock short sellers absolutely vilified when it looked like the government might restrict some of their content. It really never happened.

The Shanghai A index is trailing the US large caps at this time. The China stocks are trading as if the investment community is now expecting a “soft landing” scenario in China.

China small caps are not trading as well as their larger brethren yet- but they will catch up as soon as there are some big break outs. Shorts are covering, but still have huge positions, and as these stocks trade up on lighter volumes, short sellers are going struggle with closing out their positions at lower prices.

One of my 3 favorite China stocks rocketed to a level it hasn’t seen since early September on Friday. The two others had a sideways week, but earnings are coming soon.

And, don’t forget to sign up for my free Webinar on:

How China Companies Commit Fraud

Warmest Regards,

Larry Isen

Chinese Markets Go 5 for 7 – Chinese Markets

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Editor

The Shanghai A shares were down .25%, and the B shares down .14%.

The price of copper, considered one of the leading indicators of industrial demand and the health of China’s manufacturing economy, fell to a 14 month low. Many believe this signals another global recession.

We’re going to need some economic numbers out of China suggesting the impending recession is not as bad as the market is pricing in, and the growing Chinese consumer can pick up any shortfall their export manufacturing might experience.

Here’s a few other news items out of China today:

Hedge fund manager and highly respected Bear and Short sell Jim Chanos estimates China’s debt to GDP ratio is close to 200%- worse than European countries. He says their debt crises will lead to 0% growth in 2012. He believe China will write of 7.5% to 10% of GDP to bad loans.
Resource investing news reports electric car demand is strong in Brazil, India, and China- price being the key sticking point.
In a move that many see as an “In Your Face” to the US Senate, China has frozen its currency at the current level. By a wide margin the US Senate recently passed a initiative to start crafting a bill that would allow the US to impose big tariffs on the imports of countries who do not allow their currencies to float. This is aimed directly at China. However, China observers point out- the last time China did this, it was three months out in front of a massive stimulus program.

That’s it for today. Perhaps better news tomorrow.

Continuing South – China has officially become the world’s largest consumer of energy

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Editor

Not much news out of China over night. The Shanghai Markets were lower for a 3rd straight day and for 5 out of the last 7 trading sessions. The China markets are flirting with the lowest levels in 2 years.

In Wednesday’s trading, China’s Shanghai A shares were down .25%, and the B shares down .14%.

There’s a couple of news items out of China worth mentioning- Here you go:

Premier Wen Jiabao was out urging stronger financial support for China’s small businesses. He’s suggesting some bank credit support, preferential tax treatment, and a relaxing of the standards for non performing loans. Also, he wants banks to avoid “adminstrative intervention”. Now, there’s a concept we could use in the US.
China has officially become the world’s largest consumer of energy according to BP’s statistical review world energy. BP reports that in 2010, China used 20.3% of the world’s energy, while the US used 19%.
Llloyd Private Banking just completed a survey of private investors which concluded China has now become the most attractive market on balance of risk and return, with the UK, Brazil, and Russia coming in distantly behind. The Lloyds private banking customers noted they were mostly concerned about the Greek situation.

That’s it for today.

Another Train Wreck Wrecks China Markets Today

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Editor

The Shanghai A shares were off .95%, and the B shares off .17%. These indexes just continue bumping along the bottom at about the lows of 2010.

In Shanghai, 13 stations slowed their trains, and Line 10 closed. Special buses were brought in by the government to move people. Rail stocks of all sorts were clobbered in both Hong Kong and China trading.

In other China news:

Senior China officials were out yesterday stating China GDP growth would hit 9% this year. Lu Ahonguyan, deputy director for the State Economic research center, said there was no need to worry about a hard landing for the Chinese economy. Lu said the global slow down will help China contain rising prices and readjust the country’s economic structure.
Allan Liu, manager of the Fidelity Southeast Asia fund, revealed his favorite consumer stock picks for China. He is extremely bullish on Baidu (BIDU), and Sina Corp (SINA)- Bidu is the China equivalent of Google- Sina is a bit more like a functional Yahoo!. He also likes Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors. Fund manager Paul Winborne of JO Hambro Capital Management likes Sun Art Retail, China Mengui Dairy, Golden Eagle, Hengan Inernational, and Baidu.

That’s all for today.

Foreign Investment Still Pouring Into China

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Editor

Today was the day we were able to lock in our profits on the October Covered Calls on BIDU. We have made substantial returns with this strategy in the last 4 weeks. On Monday we get to do it again with the October calls. If you’re interested, sign up for your free two week trial.

The big news out of China today is the continue influx of foreign investment capital. Despite well known short sellers like Jim Chanos out there claiming China’s is going to fall of a cliff, and the newly minted king of short seller Carson Block (of Muddy Waters Fame) stating the Chinese consumer is overstated, the global investment community continues to pour money into China.

According to the Chinese Commerce Department, $8.4 billion flowed into China in DFI (Direct Foreign Investment) last month. Not only is this a giant number, it’s also up 11% over the previous month.

In 2011 (through end of August) FDI in China has risen 17.7% to $77.63 billion.While this still seems like a positive bet on China, it’s having a negative effect on the overall Chinese economy in the form of fueling inflation.

All this capital pouring into the country is keeping prices high, and inflation is the #1 problem the Chinese economy faces today.

China could put collars on the influx of capital to hold inflation down, but the Chinese would never turn their back on other people’s money. It’s not their way. They will take all the money offered. It’s a one way street. China will have to control its inflation through other means.

Here’s today’s news out of China:

The Chinese markets eaked out a tiny gain in Friday’s trading- The Shanghai A shares were up .09%, the B shares up .08%.
The Wall Street Journal reports the Chinese Ministry of Information is becoming more concerned about how internet use is effecting Chinese society. As a result, the Communists Party’s Politburo visited Baidu this past week to discuss the future of content that will be allowed. The stock is likely to be trading below its true value on perceived issues relative to both censorship and its corporate structure. This is a highly successful public company that has raised billions in foreign capital. In my view, the Chinese government will do nothing to derail the BIDU success- it would only discourage the influx of foreign capital.
The People’s Bank of China reported 49.6% believe consumer prices will continue to rise in the next quarter, up 4.1% from the last survey. 72% prices have risen “too high to accept”. This is the sort of information that might cause the government to continue aggressively tightening, and derails a “soft landing” scenario.
The Chinese government has disclosed it will invest $4.69 billion in infrastructure in Tibet between now at 2015 in 225 infrastructure projects.

Europe Still All the Market Cares About

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Editor

The market goes through periods of time when the news flow is laser focused on issues that become magnified beyond their true importance. If Greece defaults on its bonds, does that really effect in any major way most US companies, or companies serving the ever growing consumer in China? I think not. Yet- it effects the market in a dramatic way each and every day – this month.

Fortunately, next month the focus will be earnings, and hopefully the out of Europe will have quieter voice in October- the month that has traditionally been the Bear Killer.

Today, the ECB moved to remove doubts about the ability of European banks to borrow dollars by providing new lines of credit for longer periods of time.

Markets globally were up strong on the news.

There isn’t a big news flow out of China, but here’s some items I picked up on:

The Chinese markets were down slightly in overnight trading- the Shanghai A shares were down .2%, and the B shares down .12%. The news out of Europe should help these stocks perform better in tonight’s trading.
Premier Wen Jiabo is using the European crisis to lobby for trade changes. The European Union has classified China as a “non market” economy- meaning they pursue unfair trade practices. In a speech, Wen “suggested” China would be more amenable to helping with the a European bail out if Europe would re designate China as a “market economy”, thereby allowing China to export to Europe without tariffs. European markets liked the idea, and rebounded on his comments.
A study recently released by KPMG suggests China is losing its edge as the world’s greatest manufacturer. According to the report, the minimum wage in China is now 4 times that of other South East Asia countries. Indonesia and Bangladesh are benefiting from this trend. Rising wages in China is a positive with the inflation picture, and a reason China will accelerate to have its GDP growth more domestically focused.
Baidu owns travel site Qunar.com. It was announced today Baidu plans to spin out Qunar into a separate division for an US IPO next year.

That’s it for today. Let’s hope for smoother sailing ahead.

Emerging China Stocks

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