Chinese fixed asset investment rose 4.0 percent on the year-to-date in April, down slightly from an increase of 4.2 percent in March and below the consensus forecast of 4.2 percent. In month-over-month terms, fixed asset investment rose 0.10 percent in April after an increase of 0.15 percent in March.

In their statement accompanying today's monthly activity data, officials characterised the data as showing the economy maintained stable growth despite pressure, with steady and fast growth in major indicators. Officials noted an increasing impact of external shocks and warned that there are many unstable and uncertain factors in the external environment. Although they again pledged to implement more proactive and effective macro policies", officials provided no specific guidance about whether additional changes to policy settings will be considered in the near-term.

Activity data published today were mixed relative to consensus forecasts, with retail sales weaker and industrial production slightly stronger. The China's RPI fell from plus 14 to minus 14 while the RPI-P fell from plus 20 to minus 20, indicating that recent Chinese data in sum are still coming in just below consensus forecasts.

Annual growth expected unchanged at 4.2 percent in April from 4.2 percent in March.

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.