Shanghai: Stocks plunge more than 4% at open, Hong Kong rises

SHANGHAI stocks tumbled more than four per cent at the open on Wednesday after racking up big gains a day earlier following a week-long break, but Hong Kong clawed back some of the losses of more than nine per cent it suffered.

The Shanghai Composite Index shed 4.54 per cent, or 158.45 points, to 3,331.33, and the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange, dropped 4.31 per cent, or 90.51 points, to 2,008.26.

Both bourses saw big gains the day before but were well off their initial highs.

The Hang Seng Index gained 1.74 per cent, or 363.25 points, to 21,290.04, having tanked more than nine per cent on Tuesday, its biggest loss since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Equities in the mainland and Hong Kong rocketed after China last month began announcing measures aimed at boosting the world’s number two economy, piling on more than 20 per cent each.

However, a much-anticipated news conference in Beijing on Tuesday - after the Golden Week break - left traders disappointed as officials refused to unveil more stimulus and provided scant detail on the measures already pledged. AFP