Xtrackers Harvest CSI 500 China A-Shares Small Cap ETF

ASHS

Market cap $30M

Despite mounting macro headwinds at the start of the year, Chinese equities have continued to deliver positive performance. While near-term flows can provide further upside, the durability for the equity rally will hinge on policy choices ahead.

Among APAC equity markets, Australia has a higher beta to oil prices while India, Indonesia and Thailand have lower betas. Domestic political uncertainties have been one main reason for the decoupling trend seen in Indonesia and Thailand.

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Sentiment remains fragile in China and Hong Kong stock market even China services activities have improved in December. Weak market breadth and a persistent bearish trend of the Chinese yuan since November has added to more woes to the Hang Seng Index.

China's stimulus plan head lead to big fund flows in ETFs. The trend towards private asset ETFs continues to gain steam.

Wall Street delivered a muted performance last week due to a host of global tensions.

Xtrackers Harvest CSI 500 China A-Shares Small Cap ETF ASHS is probably on the radar for investors seeking momentum. The fund just hit a 52-week high and moved up 57.4% from its 52-week low price of $22.02/share.

Data largely came in weaker than already cautious forecasts, and with a less supportive base effect, we will need to see a significant stimulus push to reach this year's growth target. Looking at the output of industrial products, we can see the clear impact of the property market decline play out.

The Shenzhen A shares index, a bellwether of mainland Chinese equities, is down 32 percent from its 2-year high set in February of last year. China's demographic problems begin and end with its dependency ratio - the number of retirees relative to the working population.

Chinese companies are being encouraged to return cash to shareholders - and are finding good reasons to do so. Regulators are encouraging companies to focus on shareholder returns, and changing macroeconomic conditions are making it easier for Chinese companies to pay dividends. Given the risks, we think an active investing approach is especially important when investing in high-dividend Chinese stocks.