China's benchmark stock index fell almost 6 per cent on Monday, dropping through the 3,000 point level and extending two weeks of falling prices that have wiped out two months of gains.
The drop was the largest in percentage terms in nine months and appears to reflect concern over government efforts to rein in bank lending that has been diverted to the country's stock and property markets amid an unprecedented credit boom.
The Shanghai Composite index, China's most-watched benchmark, fell 5.8 per cent to 2,871 yesterday, a drop of more than 17 per cent from the peak it reached on August 4, when the market was up 91 per cent for the year.