Asian Stocks Retreat as China Shares Plunge Most in Five Years Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark falling the most in a week, as China shares tumbled the most since 2009 amid record turnover and the yen climbed. China Galaxy Securities Co. plunged 13 percent in Hong Kong, the biggest loss since the mainland brokerage listed in November 2013, to lead the MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) lower. Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore energy explorer, dropped 4.4 percent as oil extended declines. Panasonic Corp., an electronics company that gets half its sales abroad, lost 3.2 percent in Tokyo. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 0.6 percent to 139.19 as of 4:06 p.m. in Hong Kong, heading for the biggest loss since Dec. 1. The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 5.4 percent, the most since August 2009, on government action to curb risky debt after topping 3,000 for the first time since 2011 yesterday. China’s policy change “is the biggest drag on the market today as there’s a liquidity crunch,” said Zhang Gang, a strategist at China Central Securities Co. in Shanghai. “Investors have been overly speculative and this irrational surge has resulted in a bigger slump, too.” The Shanghai Composite Index swung by more than 250 points today as investors assessed [...] newsintx/asian-stocks-retreat-as-china-shares-plunge-most-in-five-years/
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:30:09 +0000