Chinese shares tumble 8.5pc in biggest one-day drop since 2007

Chinese shares slid more than eight per cent yesterday as an unprecedented government rescue plan to prop up valuations ran out of steam, throwing Beijing’s efforts to stave off a deeper crash into doubt.

Major indexes suffered their largest one-day drop since 2007, shattering three weeks of relative calm in China’s volatile stock markets since Beijing unleashed a barrage of support measures to arrest a slump that started in mid-June.

The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen tumbled 8.6 per cent to 3,818.73 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 8.5 per cent to 3,725.56 points.

China’s market gyrations have stoked fears among global investors about the broader health of the world’s second biggest economy, hitting prices of growth-sensitive commodities such as copper, which fell yesterday not far from a six-year low. –Reuters