The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) held an internal meeting to assess market conditions and the nation’s new circuit breakers after a selloff forced local exchanges to shut for the second day this week, the person said, declining to be named because he wasn’t authorised to speak publicly.
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The CSI 300 Index plunged 7.2% Thursday, triggering an automatic shutdown within 30 minutes of the open.
Chinese stock investors play cards in a brokerage house in Beijing, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016.
The plunge in Chinese stocks Thursday was set off by concern Beijing is allowing its yuan to weaken too fast against the dollar.
The circuit breaker, however, turned the country’s stock markets upside down after it was tripped on January 4 and again on January 7, when the 7% fall occurred after 29 minutes of trading.
The latest cause for worry was a weakening in China’s currency to its lowest level since March 2011.
Trading in Chinese stocks was suspended Thursday after a key index plunged 7 percent, setting off falls in oil prices and world share markets. The tech-heavy index plunged 3% to 4689.43, leaving it more than 10% below its July record close. The Nasdaq has fallen for six days straight. Those halts, which were triggered twice this week, are increasingly seen as inadequate for preventing volatility.
The Dow Jones industrial average sank 275 points, or 1.6 percent, to 16,637 as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index slumped 2.2 percent. “They should regulate the market to make sure rules are clear and people abide by the rules”. The S&P 500 was just short of the threshold, about 9 percent away from its 52-week high.
Strong intervention was seen by the PBoC to secure the steep fall in the yuan and provide some stability to the rattled markets. Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 were also ahead.
It was up 0.02 percent from Thursday, when it was set at its lowest level in almost five years. It has been trading at 11-year lows.
Global stocks also swooned in response to the turmoil.
Jeweler Signet reported strong holiday-season sales, and its stock gained $5.33, or 14.2 percent, to $132.64.
Aerospace giant Boeing fell $5.82, or 4.2 percent, to $133.01, and freight railroad Union Pacific felt $1.75, or 2.3 percent, to $73.08.
LONDON – European shares have fallen sharply after China accelerated the depreciation of the yuan.
“China’s been such a big driver of global growth for 15 years and now they’re not, and they don’t seem to have a plan for the next 15 years”, Canally said. Instead, he said, “volatility is endogenous, and is a reflection of heightened earnings risks during [the] intense reform and restructuring” that China’s economy and markets are undergoing. Urban Outfitters advanced 93 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $22.85. Copper producer Freeport-McMoRan lost 34 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $5.83.
The FTSE 100 Index has headed back above the 6,000-mark after a Chinese stock market slump came to an end. The Dow lost as many as 320 points Thursday morning before recovering somewhat; it was down 220 points in the early afternoon.
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The euro rose to $1.0927 from $1.0788. The currency last traded at ¥118.19 compared with ¥117.60 late Thursday in Asia.
