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China Shares Close Lower as Q2 GDP Growth Disappoints; China Aerospace Times Electronics Falls 9%

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Chinese shares fell on Wednesday as the country's second-quarter economic growth fell short of forecasts.

The Shanghai Composite Index, the main gauge of Chinese stocks, closed 0.3% lower at 3,955.58. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 1.0% to 14,779.40.

China's gross domestic product expanded 4.3% year over year in the second quarter, missing the consensus market forecast of a 4.5% growth tracked by Investing.com and slower than the 5% expansion recorded in the preceding quarter.

This brought first-half GDP growth to 4.7%, within Beijing's full-year growth target range of 4.5% to 5%.

Property investment in China fell 18% year over year in H1, sharper than the 16.2% decline recorded in the previous five-month period.

China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 1% year over year to 4.269 trillion yuan in June, rebounding from a 0.6% contraction recorded in the previous month and defying the consensus forecast for a 0.1% decline tracked by Investing.com.

In company news, China Aerospace Times Electronics (SHA:600879) forecasted first-half attributable net profit of between 36 million yuan and 43 million yuan, down from 173.7 million yuan the previous year. Shares of the aerospace company closed 9% lower Wednesday.

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