HONG KONG : People in China splashed out on dining, travel and luxury goods after emerging from three years of pandemic restrictions but are still not spending freely on routine consumer items, if first quarter corporate results are an indication.
The benefits to companies, however, varied widely even though the economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter. "When you're a little bit nervous, you may spend a little bit for 'a one-off transaction'. Maybe nobody gets on the 4-hour plane ride, but they'll ride the train for an hour. You eat out, but maybe you won't watch the movie. You start slowly, but then as you get more comfortable throughout the year, you start to do a little bit more," he said.
"Investors may look past the first-quarter results and focus on the momentum of earnings revision for the second quarter," said Redmond Wong, Greater China market strategist at Saxo Markets.https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-MARKETS/egpbyebwyvq/chart.png