China’s economy and stock market are showing signs of softness amid an ongoing trade war with the U.S. On Wednesday, China’s Caixin Purchasing Managers’ Index – a private survey of activity among small- and medium-sized businesses – dropped 0.6 points to 49.4 in December, dropping below 50 for the first time since May 2017.
A reading below 50 indicates contraction. That follows disappointing results from the country’s Bureau of Statistics earlier this week, which also found that manufacturing activity shrank in December – for the first time in more