Economic Observer Online
June 24, 2013
By Peng You (彭友)
Translated by Pang Lei
Original article: [Chinese] and [Chinese]

The downward trend that saw Chinese stocks fall last week instensified during yesterday's trading, with the Shanghai Composite Index falling by more than 5 percent, it's biggest daily percentage drop in almost four years. Shanghai shares extended losses on Tuesday morning, with the Shanghai Composite Index falling to its lowest point in more than four years.

Over the past five trading days the index has declined by almost 15 percent.

The Shanghai index slumped 5.27 percent on Monday, falling to 1,963.94 points, its lowest close for the year. Trading in almost 200 stocks listed on both the Shenzhen and Shanghai bourses were halted after the value of their shares fell by 10 percent, the maximum daily trading limit. Another 422 stocks saw their price fall by more than 9 percent. A total of 1,699 of the approximately 2,500 stocks listed on both boards saw prices fall by more than 5 percent.

Only 71 of all the stocks listed on both boards rose yesterday.

The index continued to fall on Tuesday morning, down 3.8 percent to 1888.68 points when trading ceased at 11:30am.

Financial stocks have been heavily hit, with bank, securities and insurance stocks falling by an average of more than 5 percent during yesterday's trading, with smaller banks falling more than the larger state-owned banks.

Trading in shares of Ping An Bank Co (平安银行) and Minsheng Bank Corp (民生银行) were both halted yesterday after the stock price fell by more than the 10 percent daily limit. Over the past 5 trading days, the share price of each bank has fallen by over 20 and 50 percent respectively.

Links and Sources
Economic Observer Online:Shanghai Stock Market Index Hits New Low
Economic Observer Online:Stock Market Slumps After New Banking Regulations Released