Business Daily Media

Men's Weekly

.

China Stock Market Rallies as the Economy Shows Signs of Life. Global Broker Octa Looks at the Data

Chinese markets are rallying as the country's economy demonstrates signs of improvement. While the latest data offers some optimism, significant hurdles persist. Octa Broker analyses the situation and discusses the potential implications for the People's Bank of China's upcoming interest rate decision.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 19 October 2024 - China has just released a slew of macroeconomic statistics. Although it generally looks better than previously, the major risks and challenges remain in place. However, the market’s reaction has generally been positive so far. Overall, it is good news for the Asian economies, but the trend is not guaranteed to continue.

Octa

The importance
China is the world's economic powerhouse. Depending on the calculation methodology used, it is either the world’s first or second-largest economy. In 2023, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) almost reached the $25 trillion mark, underscoring its importance as a major export and import market for the world in general and the Asian nations in particular. Indeed, according to the Wilson Center, a U.S. think-tank, China is a top trading partner to over 120 countries. For example, in 2022, almost a quarter (22.6%) of all Indonesian exports went to China, while Malaysia directed some 14% of its goods and services to the country. The dependence is even more pronounced when it comes to imports, with Indonesia and Malaysia relying on China for 28.5% and 21.3% of their imports, respectively. These figures highlight the strong economic influence China has on the regional economies.

Equally, because China is also a major importer of pretty much every commodity in the world, its economic health and the growth rate of its aggregate demand can have a substantial impact on prices, especially that of crude oil.

Key insights
China's economy accelerated in the third quarter (Q3), data showed on Friday, with GDP expanding by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) from 0.7% in Q2, but the year-on-year (y-o-y) growth rate slowed to 4.6% from 4.7% in Q2. On a year-to-date (y-t-d) basis, GDP expanded by 4.8%, still below the government's official target of 5%. Generally, the data slightly missed the 1.0% q-o-q growth rate expected by the market, but there were still positive indicators within the data set. Retail sales increased by 3.1.% y-o-y in September, up from 2.1% in August, the unemployment rate fell to 5.1% (from 5.3%), while industrial output grew 5.4%, beating expectations for a 4.5% rise.

‘Among all the monthly figures released today, the highlight is a surge in industrial output, much better-than-expected retail sales and a drop in unemployment. The data clearly indicates that perhaps the government's stimulus measures are beginning to work,’ said Kar Yong Ang, a financial market analyst at Octa Broker. Indeed, weak domestic demand induced by rising unemployment and a property crisis was the main reason why the People's Bank of China (PBoC) cut its benchmark lending rates last July. The latest positive developments might offer some hope to policymakers as they work to revitalise the faltering economy in the closing months of the year.

Still, the economy needs to accelerate further if it is to reach the government's official growth target of 5% in 2024. ‘Today's reports were slightly better than the previous set of data released in July, but they do not indicate a significant turnaround in the economy. The risks are still present, the major one being deflation and the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. elections,’ said Kar Yong Ang. Indeed, China's exports and imports both slowed significantly in September, indicating that Chinese manufacturers may be reducing prices to clear inventory in anticipation of new tariffs imposed by various trading partners, not least by the United States (especially if Donald Trump becomes president). Furthermore, deflation is further fueled by an unbalanced economy, with domestic consumption falling behind industrial output. This might prompt the PBoC to implement additional interest rate cuts on Monday.

Market reactions to the latest data
Chinese markets have reacted quite favourably to the latest economic data, with the CSI 3000 Index up more than 5.5% and the Shanghai Composite Index rising by more than 4%. Meanwhile, Chinese offshore yuan strengthened to 7.12, although the short-term trend in USDCNH remains bullish. As for the Asian currencies, the Malaysian ringgit (MYR) was relatively flat, while the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) continued to appreciate, with USDIDR falling below 15,500. ‘In case, PBoC treats the latest economic data as not good enough to pause its monetary easing campaign, ringgit and rupiah may continue to appreciate but only slightly as the main driving force for them still is the U.S. monetary policy and the upcoming U.S. elections,’ said Kar Yong Ang, a financial market analyst at Octa Broker.Hashtag: #Octa

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Octa

is an international broker that has been providing online trading services worldwide since 2011. It offers commission-free access to financial markets and various services used by clients from 180 countries who have opened more than 52 million trading accounts. To help its clients reach their investment goals, Octa offers free educational webinars, articles, and analytical tools.

The company is involved in a comprehensive network of charitable and humanitarian initiatives, including the improvement of educational infrastructure and short-notice relief projects supporting local communities.

In the APAC region, Octa received the ‘Best Trading Platform Malaysia 2024’ and the ‘Most Reliable Broker Asia 2023’ awards from Brands and Business Magazine and International Global Forex Awards, respectively.

News from Asia

The 3rd Liangzhu Forum to Open in China’s Hangzhou to Highlight Harmonious Civilization Interplay

HANGZHOU, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 October 2025 - From October 18 to 20, the 3rd Liangzhu Forum will be held in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, when the profo...

Street Showdown. Seven Title-Contending Lineups Converge on Beijing for GT World Challenge Asia Season Finale

BEIJING, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 October 2025 - This weekend, the 2025 Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS heads to Beijing for its season-ending showdown, where seven driv...

Kling AI Redefines Content Creation with AI-Powered Films at MIPCOM Cannes

CANNES, FRANCE - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 October 2025 - Kling AI, the AI-powered creative platform from Kuaishou Technology, made a compelling debut at MIPCOM Cannes, the premier gathering o...

OPPO Find X9 Series to Launch Globally, Set to Redefine Mobile Imaging

SHENZHEN, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 October 2025 - OPPO, the world's leading smart device brand, today announced the global launch of its latest flagship Find X9 Series following the pr...

Primech Holdings Signs Strategic MOU with GAIB to Unlock First-of-its-kind ARaaS Revenue Models Through Tokenization

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 October 2025 - Primech Holdings Ltd. ("Primech" or the "Company"), a leader in AI-powered hygienic robotics, today announced the signing of a strategic Mem...

"Go Where Flavors of Hunan Abound": Hunan Cuisine Goes Abroad, Spreading Cultural New Chapters Through Food

BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 October 2025 - As the spicy aroma of Hunan cuisine wafts through the streets of Bangkok, a cross-border culinary dialogue quietly begins. Recently...

DL & Antalpha US$100M Gold, US$100M Bitcoin Plan

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 17 October 2025 - DL Holdings Group Limited (HKEX: 1709) today announced a comprehensive strategic partnership with Antalpha, a global leader in digital a...

Wildberries Launches Purchase on Credit in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN – Media OutReach Newswire – 17 October 2025 – Wildberries, a leading digital platform in Eurasia, has launched the option to pay for purchases on credit on its marketplace to cu...

XTransfer Shines at the 2025 APSARA Conference

Selected for "Alibaba Cloud Best Practices for Chinese Enterprises Going Global" SHANGHAI, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 17 October 2025 - XTransfer, the World's Leading B2B Cross-Border Trad...

Nikken Sekkei to Exhibit and Present at "Japanese Culture in Architecture and Materials" in Ho Chi Minh City

Exploring the Art of Designing Spaces that Inspire Emotion HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM - Media OutReach Newswire - 17 October 2025 - Nikken Sekkei will take part in "Japanese Culture in Architectur...

Brennan Bolsters Leadership to Accelerate Next Growth Chapter

In a move to further embed cybersecurity at the heart of its business strategy and deliver sovereign secure-by-design solutions for its customers, A...

How to Be Investable: Insights from Richelle Nicols, CEO of Pollinatr

Richelle Nicols is the CEO of Pollinatr, a pioneering investment and business development program designed to support and accelerate the growth of s...

What Can Australian SMEs Hope For in a Meeting Between Albanese and Trump?

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia, international politics might seem distant—but when leaders like Prime Minister Anthony...

Qantas to Serve Nan’s Davidson Plum Cookie

Lake Macquarie, NSW (Awabakal Country): From a single mother’s kitchen bench to supermarket shelves, Wiradjuri entrepreneur Terri-Ann “Tezzi” Dani...

Minns Labor Government shutting down the Business Connect program

The NSW Opposition is concerned that the Labor government will shut down a support program that has assisted New South Wales businesses. In a media ...

Samsara Eco appoints Dr. Lars Kissau as General Manager for Asia

Australian biotech innovator Samsara Eco has announced the appointment of Dr Lars Kissau as its first General Manager of Asia. Based in Singapore...