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A man wearing a protective mask is seen inside the Shanghai Stock Exchange building, as the country is hit by a new coronavirus outbreak, at the Pudong financial district in Shanghai, China February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song - 

The number of China's new investors grew in April at its slowest pace in 13 months, hit by a lack of upside momentum for the stock market and persistent worries over policy tightening.

The number of new investors for the A-share market increased by 1.7 million in April, or 3.1per cent year-on-year, its slowest since March 2020, data from the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited (CSDC) showed.

The benchmark CSI300 index closed up 2.4per cent on Friday, but was 14per cent off an all-time high hit on Feb. 18, as worries over lofty valuations, policy tightening and Sino-U.S. tension weighed on sentiment.

The index has been trading in narrow ranges since early March, when it tumbled as much as 17per cent from its record high, dampening investor appetite for equities.

Analysts and traders said the stock market would probably remain rangebound, given inflation worries and the central bank's tightening bias, thanks to a solid economic recovery from the coronavirus outbreak.

The central bank tightening will not be very strong in the short term, although inflation expectations will still dampen market sentiment to some extent, Vanho Securities analysts said in a note.

Chinese money and lending data on Wednesday showed bank lending and broader credit slowed more than expected in April as the central bank gradually scales back pandemic-drive stimulus//CNA