China's two stock markets lost about 4.5 per cent of their value on Thursday, following the slump on other Asian markets, with the key Shanghai Composite Index falling to a three-month low, according to dpa. The Shanghai index, which tracks both yuan-denominated A shares and foreign-currency B shares, fell 4.41 per cent to end at 4,984.16, down 106.11 points. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index also plunged to 1,253.28 points, dropping 4.61 per cent, or 27.58 points. The slumps came amid low trading, with shares worth 65.7 billion yuan (8.85 billion dollars) traded in Shanghai on Thursday, compared with a daily high around 220 billion yuan (29.6 billion dollars) in mid-October. Thursday's fall in Shanghai pushed it to the lowest point since August 22. The index had gained 129 per cent from the start of the year to mid-October. But investors have since been put off by "tightening monetary policy, curbs on fund flows into stocks, a flood of new share offers, high valuations and sagging stock markets overseas," the Shanghai Daily newspaper said.
