China June Activity Data Mixed — Industrial Production Beats, Retail Sales Soft, Stimulus Speculation Builds

China's June 2026 activity data showed industrial production up 5.3% YoY, beating the 4.7% forecast, while retail sales rose just 1.0% YoY — a soft print. Combined with the Q2 GDP miss reported a day earlier, the mixed data fueled market expectations of fresh stimulus measures at the Communist Party's Politburo meeting expected in late July.