The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to 4,143 on Monday, while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.3% to 15,610, as strength in the tech sector offset a string of weak economic data. Significant gains in tech stocks supported the benchmarks, led by heavyweight Zhongji Innolight (2%), alongside NAURA Technology (4.9%), Victory Giant Technology (1.3%), and Huagong Tech (10%), ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report later in the week, a bellwether for the AI and semiconductor sector. On the economic front, retail sales sharply eased to 0.2% year-on-year in April, below expectations and marking their weakest growth since December 2022. Industrial production also slowed to 4.1%, missing forecasts and reaching its softest pace since July 2023, as fallout from the Iran war dampened momentum in China’s economy. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged down to a three-month low of 5.2% in April, from a thirteen-month high of 5.4% in March.