China Stocks: Still No Sign of a Bottom

Another month has passed and there was still no sign of a bottom for Chinese stocks traded on US exchanges. In fact, March was a pretty bad month for Chinese ADRs, with 60 of the 87 stocks I tracked ending the month in the red.

Among the losers, China Finance Online (JRJC), which is a component of PowerShares Gloden Dragon Halter USX China (PGJ), saw the steepest decline of 34.50%, followed by Xinyuan Real Estate (XIN)’s 31.79% drop. The biggest winner in March was JA Solar (JASO) which recovered most of its 38% loss in February. Other gainers include China Nepstar (NPD), Gushan Environmental Energy (GU), and Global Sources (GSOL). The picture is even gloomier if you look at these stocks’ YTD returns. Of the 87 stocks, only 5 (GU, VISN, UTSI, LONG, and NTES) are in the positive territory at the end of March.

In March, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (^HSI) lost 1,482.47 points, or 6.09%, and Shanghai Composite Index (^SSEC) declined 875.83 points. That’s more 20% drop in just one month!

Name	Symbol	03/31/08 Price	March return	YTD return
3SBio	SSRX	8.74	6.98%	-41.26%
51Job	JOBS	16.25	-10.47%	-9.82%
Acorn international	ATV	7.62	-23.03%	-18.33%
Actions Semiconductor	ACTS	2.9698	-17.50%	-27.21%
Agria	GRO	8.35	2.45%	-10.50%
AirMedia Group	AMCN	15.9	-11.37%	-28.95%
Aluminum Corp of China	ACH	40.43	-16.98%	-20.16%
APT Satellite	ATS	1.54	-8.88%	-28.37%
ASAT Holdings	ASTTY	0	0	0
ATA*	ATAI	8.86	-13.98%	-7.23%
Baidu.com	BIDU	239.63	-4.66%	-38.52%
China Architectural Engineering	RCH	5.45	-6.84%	-36.99%
China Digital TV	STV	18.73	-14.59%	-30.58%
China Eastern Airlines	CEA	51.4	-17.81%	-47.37%
China Finance Online	JRJC	13.9	-34.50%	-36.82%
China Grentech	GRRF	5.12	-26.12%	-42.08%
China Life Insurance	LFC	52.06	-10.37%	-31.95%
China Medical Tech	CMED	41.09	-10.67%	-7.43%
China Mobile	CHL	75.01	0.52%	-13.65%
China Nepstar	NPD	13.6	23.52%	-22.64%
China Petro & Chemical	SNP	85.98	-21.44%	-41.98%
China Southern Airlines	ZNH	39.65	-20.06%	-39.42%
China Sunergy	CSUN	7.3	3.54%	-55.81%
China Techfaith	CNTF	5.48	-7.12%	-5.52%
China Telecom	CHA	62.83	-14.41%	-19.52%
China Netcom	CN	57.99	-5.29%	-2.37%
China Unicom	CHU	21.27	0.19%	-5.04%
ChinaEdu	CEDU	6.63	-16.08%	-22.00%
City Telecom (HK)	CTEL	4.48	-7.25%	-20.71%
CNinsure	CISG	11.53	-9.21%	-27.89%
CNOOC	CEO	146.79	-11.45%	-12.33%
Ctrip.com	CTRP	53.02	-12.54%	-7.74%
E-House	EJ	13.15	-19.13%	-44.82%
eLong	LONG	8.53	-0.93%	3.02%
Focus Media	FMCN	35.15	-30.22%	-38.13%
Fuqi International	FUQI	7.13	-7.52%	-14.10%
Giant Interactive	GA	12.65	21.52%	-2.54%
Global Sources	GSOL	14.85	21.72%	-47.43%
Guangshen Railway	GSH	26.3	-18.32%	-26.21%
Gushan Environmental Energy	GU	13.07	22.72%	39.79%
Home Inns & Hotel	HMIN	19.69	-27.42%	-44.72%
Huaneng Power	HNP	30.54	-6.03%	-26.05%
Hurray!	HRAY	2.76	-17.61%	-30.65%
Hutchison Telecomm	HTX	21.51	8.36%	-5.03%
JA Solar	JASO	18.6	30.16%	-20.07%
Kongzhong	KONG	4.33	-31.70%	-28.90%
Las Vegas Sands	LVS	73.64	-11.60%	-28.54%
LDK Solar	LDK	27	-5.53%	-42.57%
Linktone	LTON	2.7	-21.97%	-12.62%
Longtop Financial Tech.	LFT	18.88	-2.68%	-20.27%
Melco PBL Entertainment	MPEL	11.38	-5.99%	-1.56%
Mindray Medical	MR	28.94	-21.14%	-32.65%
Netease.com	NTES	19.21	-10.44%	1.32%
New Oriental Education	EDU	64.86	4.03%	-19.52%
Ninetowns inter	NINE	2.34	-13.01%	-26.65%
Noah Education*	NED	5.56	-8.10%	-31.02%
O2Micro International	OIIM	7.73	-10.01%	-33.02%
Perfect World	PWRD	22.71	-15.98%	-18.54%
PetroChina	PTR	125.31	-14.65%	-28.59%
QiaoXing Mobile Comm.	QXM	6.01	-13.90%	-28.88%
Renesola*	SOL	11.36	6.87%	-9.19%
Semiconductor Manufacturing	SMI	3.51	-13.12%	-32.37%
Shanda Interactive	SNDA	29.1	-12.03%	-12.56%
Simcere Pharmaceutical	SCR	10.46	-0.10%	-24.48%
Sina	SINA	35.25	-14.88%	-20.43%
Sinopec	SHI	34.99	-24.90%	-42.70%
Sohu.com	SOHU	45.13	0.11%	-17.22%
Solarfun Power	SOLF	12.06	3.61%	-63.06%
Spreadtrum Communications	SPRD	8.7	15.38%	-29.04%
Suntech Power	STP	40.56	9.12%	-50.73%
The9	NCTY	20.5	-4.74%	-4.34%
Tongjitang Chinese Medicine	TCM	8.22	11.38%	-16.55%
Trina Solar	TSL	30.74	-3.24%	-42.86%
UTstarcom	UTSI	2.84	0.71%	3.65%
VanceInfo Technologies	VIT	6.08	-25.12%	-32.44%
Vimicro International	VIMC	2.7496	-15.40%	-26.87%
VisionChina Media	VISN	11.08	5.83%	30.35%
WSP Holdings	WH	6.9	-2.82%	-24.18%
Wuxi Pharmatech	WX	22.36	-6.83%	-23.53%
XinHua Finance Media	XFML	3.16	-22.17%	-47.33%
Xinyuan Real Estate	XIN	8.39	-31.79%	-41.04%
Yazhou Coal Mining	YZC	71.03	-13.68%	-26.82%
Yingli Green Energy	YGE	17.1	1.36%	-55.77%

*2008 IPO

No new Chinese ADR was offered in March. In stead, one stock, ASAT Holdings, was delisted from the NASDAQ and is currently traded on AMEX under the symbole ASTTY at $0.20 a share.

For widely held EFTs that mainly invest in China, iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI) lost $10.09, or 6.95% in March, and PowerShares Gloden Dragon Halter USX China (PGJ) dropped $2.76, or 9.96%.

Comments

[CliffA42:]

So. . .? This is a rare dumb column for this site. Look at the technicals! A lot of these have definitely found a plateau, and some have started to turn. How far they will go is another question, but. . .please!

2008 Apr 02 02:05 PM

[tsunamirrs:]

I think that enough is enough,really. This is the bottom. Only problem is that there is no enough volume to support. Stop speculating, start investing.

2008 Apr 02 03:22 PM

[windinmyface2:]

The Chinese stock may be bottomed out, but when the Chinese people get the slightest scare, as when stock starts to drop, instead of waiting for a rebound, they panic, and sell off fast, and it will take a while for them to regain some trust. JADG is an interesting stock. It has some good reading material.

2008 Apr 03 01:09 AM

[Khumbu:]

I just got back from China about a month ago, and there was a huge housing problem there, just as there is here now. Taxi drivers were complaining about the price of gas, didn't stop people from spending, spending, spending. This is probably the bottom. The market over there is too hot right now.

2008 Apr 03 04:02 AM

[huangthomas:]

Do you know what "DaFei(大非) or XiaoFei(小非) is and how that is going to affect A-share market price? Do more home work!

2008 Apr 03 09:33 AM

[User 172690:]

How can anyone trust the information they receive? I mean the same folks who walked away with gazillions in the market and pushed for deregulation as Robert Rubin and the repeal of the Glass-stegel act are now calling for oversight. They are as bad as the so called public servants enriching themselves and currently running for President. I say put your money in your mattress! The enormous deficits, the funding of Social Security and Medicare, the no new taxes mantra and the failed war in Iraq are yet to configure in the perfect storm and fully weighed in the financial arithmetic. Unless you are Bernie Lewis and still have a few billion left after losing that much in Bear Stearns don't walk into the foxes den clucking.Stay away. Remember the lessons of Great Gatsby!

2008 Apr 03 09:30 PM

[Kunst:]

Keep in mind that a bottom doesn't necessarily imply immediate strong increases. A bottom can be long and flat, and bumpy.

2008 Apr 03 11:56 PM

[User 174000:]

Been/about to get burned, CliffA42?

2008 Apr 06 08:46 PM

[jo0hn2:]

windinmyface- can say that about americans to well except americans do get back in the game faster

2008 Apr 10 06:28 PM