HONG KONG — Trading was halted on
China’s stock market for the second time this week, as stocks plummeted on Thursday over concerns about the country’s currency and the health of the economy.
It has been a rocky start to the new year, with worries over China shaking the confidence of investors around the world and creating volatility in the markets. The big fear is that China’s economy is slowing down, crimping global growth.
A downbeat Chinese manufacturing report on Monday sent stocks spiraling, prompting the country’s market to close early. It also set off a global rout, with stocks in Europe and the United States getting hit.
The latest tumult centers on the Chinese currency, the renminbi.
The Chinese government, which closely controls the renminbi, has been allowing the value to steadily decline. It is a difficult process to manage, especially as companies and individuals pull money out of the country at a rapid rate.
The currency’s moves on Thursday served to spook investors. China’s central bank in the morning set the rate for the renminbi at 6.5646 to the dollar, its lowest point in almost six years.
The weakening currency was likely to lead to a capital outflow and tightening monetary conditions in China, said Li-Gang Liu, the chief economist for greater China at the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. That, in turn, he added, would exacerbate the sell off in markets.
As trading opened on Thursday, Chinese stocks plummeted, activating a so-called circuit breaker for the second day this week. The circuit breaker, a newly adopted emergency measure, forces trading to stop for 15 minutes when losses hit 5 percent. Once trading resumed, the losses continued, taking stocks down 7 percent and forcing a stop in trading for the day.
The CSI 300 blue-chip stock index finished the day down 7.2 percent. The Shanghai composite index fell 7.3 percent, while Shenzhen plunged 8.3 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/business/dealbook/china-shanghai-stocks-fall.html?_r=0
China's stock market is crashing...again.