China markets end mixed as investors hailed economic news, worried about US tariff impact

Chinese markets closed mixed on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index staging a late afternoon turnaround to post a gain after China released better-than-expected data.

Shenzhen and Hong Kong markets closed lower as investors did some profit-taking and assessed how US tariffs might play out.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.26 percent at the close. The Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.85 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tanked 1.91 percent.

China delivered a raft of economic data on Wednesday that beat analysts' forecasts. First-quarter growth in gross domestic product was up 5.4 percent, year on year.

Sheng Laiyun, deputy chief of the National Bureau of Statistics, said China's economy started 2025 on a strong footing.

"China is among the frontrunners in major global economies," he said. "The growth pattern is driven more by domestic demand and industrial innovation."

China has set the growth target at 5 percent for this year.

Sheng said US tariffs on Chinese imports, now standing at 145 percent, excluding a temporary exemption on electronics goods, will impose "certain pressures" on China's economy and foreign trade in the short term, "but they won't change the long-term trend of growth."

He added, "We have the confidence, capability and determination to tackle external challenges and achieve our development goals."

In other released data, China retail sales in March rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier, and industrial production was up 7.7 percent. The retail sales figure indicates that China's stimulus policies to encourage more consumer spending are working.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.01 percent, while South Korean shares were down 1.21 percent.