Investing.com - Service sector activity in China deteriorated to the lowest level since November 2005 in July, fuelling concerns over the economic outlook of the world’s second largest economy, data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, HSBC/Markit said that its Chinese services purchasing managers’ index fell to a seasonally adjusted 50.0 last month from a reading of 53.1 in June.
It was the lowest reading in the nine-year history of the data, indicating a recovery in the broader economy remains fragile and may need further government stimulus.
Commenting on the China Services and Composite PMI data, Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC said, “The weakness in the headline number likely reflects the impact of the ongoing property slowdown in many cities as property related activity, such as agencies and residential services, see less business.”
Asian stock markets ended mixed following the release of the data. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.4% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.1%, China’s Shanghai Composite inched down 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1%.