China's shares fall on retail growth concerns

China stocks fell as retail sales figures for the week-long lunar new year showed slowing growth, Bloomberg reported. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.5% to 2,421.56 at the end of trading on Monday, even though five shares increased for every four that fell. The CSI 300 Index fell 1.2% to 2,737.47, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese firms listed in Hong Kong lost 0.7%. The fall was caused by a drop in consumer staple firms due to “weak lunar new year sales,” said Zhang Haidong, an analyst at Tebon Securities. Chinese alcohol maker Kweichow Moutai (600519.SH) slid 4.4%, sparking the largest slump for consumer-staples makers among industry groups.