BEIJING (AP) – China’s stock market lurched lower again Monday, triggering “circuit breakers” that halted trading. The slump was the latest episode in months of turmoil for Chinese investors.
China’s market benchmark soared 150 percent between November 2014 and early June 2015, as cheerleading in the state press encouraged inexperienced investors into the market. The Shanghai Composite Index hit its peak June 12 and then fell 30 percent. A panicked government slashed interest rates and bought shares to halt the slide. Beijing gradually withdrew emergency measures starting in September as prices tentatively stabilized.
The biggest one-day declines since June and government responses:
– June 26: The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index falls 7.4 percent as part of a slide triggered by investor concern a change in bank regulations is aimed at limiting credit to finance trading.
– June 27: Beijing cuts interest rates for a fourth time since November to reassure investors of official support for the market.