THE earliest indicators of China’s economy for October give mixed readings, reflecting the tug-of-war between resilient domestic demand and fresh challenges as policy switches to reining in financial risks.

    Confidence among small and medium-sized companies, consumers’ sentiment and manufacturing activity are holding up, while larger firms are less confident in the outlook, private reports for this month show. Meantime, official numbers from the statistics authority show there’s signs of cooling in the overheated property market.

    With the world’s No. 2 economy expanding at 6.7 percent in the first three quarters — smack in the middle of the government’s planned 6.5 percent to 7 percent target — policymakers are pledging to switch gear with efforts to curb debt expansion and rein in surging home prices in the nation’s biggest cities. Economists now see the People’s Bank of China as largely on hold, according to the most recent survey by Bloomberg.

    Standard Chartered’s Small and Medium Enterprise Confidence Index edged up to 56.1 this month from 56 in September. Investment momentum and employment remained solid, Shen Lan, a Beijing-based China economist, wrote in a report.

    “We expect the authorities to maintain reasonable liquidity to contain funding costs, and to use expansionary fiscal policy and accommodative monetary policy to support real activity for the rest of this year,” Shen wrote.

    The Westpac MNI China Consumer Sentiment Indicator rose to 117.1 in October, the highest in six months. Consumers are more willing to spend on appliances, technology products and phones, according to a statement Wednesday from Westpac Banking Corp. and Market News International.

    “Chinese consumer confidence is again showing promising signs of a sustained lift with the more positive picture on family finances and durables spend a welcome development,” wrote Matthew Hassan, a senior economist at Westpac.(SD-Agencies)