China's reopening brings optimism but investors remain wary

Equity rebound slow

China is a rare bright spot in the global economy this year. China is expected to grow by at least 5% in 2023 as per the government’s target, but the consensus forecast has been going up and it is now closer to 6%.

China's reopening is a powerful driver of activity due to pent-up demand and savings. Low inflation and strong growth are usually a good macro backdrop for asset prices. So why is the Chinese equity rebound fizzling out already? When everyone's expectation is sky-high, even good data is not enough to please. And we know how markets react on reality versus expectation. Take as an example the consensus expectation for China's retail sales figures for April. They were expected to grow at 22% year-on-year. The ubiquitous chip: Rethinking the supply chain While this is not unrealistic, ...