Stocks fall on signs of weakening economy

Stocks in China fell on Thursday as exports dropped for the first time in seven years and inflation slowed, Bloomberg reported. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.3% to 2,031.68 as evidence mounts of weakening growth in the world’s fourth-largest economy. China Railway Erju, a unit of China Railway Group, dropped 6.6% while Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Citigroup’s Chinese partner, lost 3.7%. Baoshan Iron and Steel, the country’s largest steelmaker, fell 3.7% on reports that steel product exports decreased by 36% in November. But China’s airlines surged on news that they would receive funds from the government. China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines both jumped by the 10% daily limit as trading resumed after they received anticipated bailout funds from the government.