Chinese fixed asset investment rose 3.3 percent year-to-date in November, down slightly from the 3.4 increase recorded year-to-date in October and the lowest growth rate of the year. Property investment was again weak, falling 10.4 percent year-to-date, but growth was solid in other sectors, with manufacturing investment up 9.3 percent year-to-date. In month-over-month terms, fixed asset investment increased 0.10 percent after advancing 0.16 percent previously

In their statement accompanying today's data, officials characterised the data as showing the economy was"generally stable with steady progress" and has"sustained the recovery momentum" but noted"the external environment is increasingly complicated" and"demand is insufficient at home". Officials, however, provided little guidance about whether additional changes to policy settings will be considered in the near-term.

Data published today showed weaker-than-expected retail sales, with other indicators close to consensus forecasts. The China's RPI and RPI-P remained unchanged at minus 21 and minus 30 respectively, indicating that recent Chinese data in sum are coming in well below consensus forecasts.

China's big stimulus package in the third quarter evidently isn't having a big effect on investment. Growth in fixed asset investment has been stable near 3.4 percent, year on year, for the last few months, and forecasters expect only a mildly better reading at 3.5 percent for November.

Investment in fixed assets refers to the investment in construction and purchase of fixed assets by private and state-controlled domestic enterprises and households (excluding rural households) involving a total planned investment of CNY5 million yuan or more. Separate data for private investment and state-controlled investment are published as well as more detailed data on an industry basis.

Investment in fixed assets is an important part of gross domestic product and also provides the additional productive capacity to an economy that is required to drive future growth. Strong growth in this category of spending indicates that enterprises are confident about future prospects and is generally associated with rising employment and incomes.

Investment in fixed assets therefore provides information about near-term and future economic growth. Investors need to closely track the economic growth because it usually dictates how investments will perform. Investors in the stock market like to see healthy economic growth because robust business activity translates to higher corporate profits. Bond investors are more highly sensitive to inflation and robust economic activity could potentially pave the road to inflation. By tracking economic data such as GDP, investors will know what the economic backdrop is for these markets and their portfolios.