China's economic growth in the third quarter of 2026 was lifted by strong exports, with the country's GDP expanding by 4.5% year-on-year between June and September. This figure surpassed economists' expectations and marked an increase from the second quarter's 4.3% growth.
The economy grew by 4.6% in the first nine months of the year, positioning it to meet the government's 2026 growth target of 4.5% to 5% without additional stimulus measures. Industrial production saw a rise of 5.5% in September, up from 5.2%, and retail sales increased by 1.1%, an improvement from 0.4%.
Despite these gains, domestic demand showed weakness. Fixed-asset investment declined by 7.2% over the first nine months, and property investment fell by 20.6%. Infrastructure spending also remained weak, indicating a disparity between the factory sector and household, property, and investment sectors, according to analyst Stephen Innes.
In Asian stock markets, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.6%, while China's CSI 300 rose 0.28%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.%, and South Korea's Kospi added 1.5%.
Separately, increasing street protests in France have put pressure on the euro, which dipped 0.2% to $1.1218 against the dollar. French bonds also sold off, pushing yields higher, with the yield on the 10-year French government bond rising over 6 basis points to 4.842%.