Stock traders question Beijing's inaction after rout

Shanghai

WHAT happened to the Beijing put? That's what investors in China are asking themselves after a gauge of large-cap stocks plunged 3 per cent on Thursday, rattling a market that's grown accustomed to state support when losses get extreme. While there were signs over the past week that the government was looking to cool gains in high-flying shares such as Kweichow Moutai Co - along with concerns over rising corporate bond yields - the severity of Thursday's slump caught some traders off guard.

The biggest surprise was that losses accelerated into the close. The nation's CSI 300 Index sank 52 points in the final 45 minutes of trading, the steepest afternoon decline since the depths of China's stock market crash in January 2016. Such late-day sell-offs have been rare this year, with the index rising an average 2.9 points, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.