The Shanghai index ended the day marginally higher, with a 0.09% gain. This comes as bulls try to stabilize the index asset, which has been under severe pressure in recent months from the endless lockdowns that the Chinese authorities have slapped on the industrial city of Shanghai and the capital Beijing.
The impact of the lockdowns is also telling on listed companies. Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc reported that its 618 sales only showed a 10% rise year-on-year, down from 2021’s 27.7% increase, as the company laments what has been its lowest sales growth on record.
Adding to the mix is a ballooning controversy over the COVID Health Code App, a colour-coded code introduced by the Chinese authorities. The app uses a traffic light-based system to assign a health risk score to residents based on where they had visited.
Some residents in Henan Province say their app turned red without ever stepping into the hot zones, preventing them from accessing their bank funds in what is now a growing scandal. Caixin Global reports at least one instance where a Henan resident has sued health authorities after her app’s colour change prevented her from attending a court hearing regarding her house’s demolition.
