The CSI300 index ended Tuesday (Jan. 5) up 0.3%, while the wider Shanghai composite index finished 0.3% lower. (Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.65%.) The day saw stocks slide by an initial 2%, and the CSI300 gyrated by 4%, before government intervention to prop up the equity and money markets.
There were widespread reports of the People’s Bank of China injecting $20 billion into money markets. And the China Securities Regulatory Commission said that it would announce more rules to prevent major shareholders selling stakes. A six-month lockup period initiated after the summer 2015 market plunge is scheduled to expire next Monday (Jan. 11.)
Yesterday’s crash in China sparked sharp falls on European and U.S. stock markets.
The crash seemed to be started by poor numbers from a purchasing managers’ survey.
The outlook for Chinese stock markets remains clouded by high valuations, a slowing economy and capital outflows that have been accelerated by the weakening Chinese currency.