Chinese shares ended a volatile session lower despite unprecedented support measures by Beijing to support the market and bolster the flagging economy.
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The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks all the tickers trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, lost 1.1 per cent to end at 3,664.0 points.
The Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges had put limits on 24 accounts for influencing stock prices and investors’ decisions, the CSRC statement added, without naming the account holders or detailing the restrictions.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose 0.4 percent to 124.34 yen and the euro edged down 0.6 percent to $1.0903. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues gained 13.27 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 1,647.21. LG Electronics closed 1.7 percent higher before announcing a 60 percent plunge in quarterly profit after the market close. Trading volumes in Shanghai have halved from their peaks in June, while margin debt, which had fueled a world-beating rally for China’s stocks, declined to a four-month low.
The country’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed slightly higher at 20,585.24 points, up 0.3%. The index traded as high as 1.5% and as low as 2.7%, or within a 4.2% range.
However, a Reuters poll showed that Chinese fund managers had cut the proportion of their portfolios to be invested in stocks over the next three months to a 6-1/2-year low. PetroChina Co, the biggest oil producer, slid 3.4 per cent. Air China Ltd fell 8.1 per cent. The medical device maker has signed a definitive agreement to buy Curative Medical, a privately-held Chinese provider of ventilation and breathing devices to treat sleep disorders.
Stocks have plunged more than 30 percent since mid-June, threatening further risks to an economy that is expected to post its slowest growth in a quarter of a century this year. The blue-chip Dow and the S&P 500 ended near the flatline, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.3 percent. “Such a practice is closely watched by regulators in the U.S.as well”. South Korea’s Kospi finished up 0.6 percent at 2,030.16.
– Taipei fell 0.22 per cent, or 19.01 points, to 8,563.48. Shares of Samsung SDI plummeted 9.3 percent after the company swung to a loss in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, a fall in crude oil prices that accompanied the Chinese stock selloff reflected concerns about China’s energy demands if its economy weakens, the news website said. Meridian Energy and Mighty River Power both climbed about 3 percent, while the benchmark NZX-50 index gained 29.11 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 5,920.96. Vincent Chan, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said that financing for buying stocks by informal lending channels, as tracked by one major trading system, likely dropped sharply since mid-July.
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Outside the tech sector, restaurant chain operator Yum Brands is another American company that relies heavily on the Chinese market, where over 50% of the company’s sales came from last year, the report said.
