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Asian shares retreat; Beijing’s moves to restore market confidence fail to convince investors

By Conviron Altatis | Jan 05, 2016 05:14 AM EST
Investors look at computer screens showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai, May 26, 2015.
(Photo : Reuters/Aly Song) Investors look at computer screens showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai, May 26, 2015.

Led by Chinese stocks, Asian shares recently retreated in an irregular trade. Because of this, Beijing made an attempt to restore market confidence after an unsuccessful start to 2016 but investors are still not convinced.

"Investors rushed to the door during the level-one stage of the circuit breaker as they fretted the market would go down further," Bloomberg quoted Hong Kong's Shenwan Hongyuan sales trading head William Wong as saying.

One day after its stock indexes and yuan currency fell and shook markets across the world,

China moved to reinforce unsteady sentiment.  However, investors were warned by analysts to prepare for more unexpected price swings and the afternoon session underlined the challenges faced by Beijing, according to Independent.

Because of a mixture of policy intervention and hard cash, stocks moved back into positive territory soon after the fall on stocks, which prompted fears that exchanges were set for a second day of panic selling.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was changed following a 2.7pc drop. Also, signs of stabilization in mainland markets calmed jangled nerves.

Through open market operations in the morning, China's central bank injected $20 billion in cash. According to forex traders, it intervened to stabilize the sliding yuan, which was blamed for the recent slump.

In addition, the central bank set its yuan currency's value of slightly firmer than many had anticipated. This countered concerns about China seeking devaluation to aid exports.

According to securities regulator in China, rules to control share sales by major holders and senior executives in listed companies are being studied.

During the crash in a state-coordinated rescue, which Goldman Sachs had estimated to have cost approximately $138 billion, major brokerages and asset management firms in China spent massive sums to buy up shares.

According to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), for its part, it was thinking about more restrictions on share sales by major shareholders. For small investors, this was a major concern.

In addition, the CSRC declared that it would help major shareholders and senior executives use block trades and negotiated transfers to reduce shares. This would allow for an "orderly exit" of emergency measures, the CSRC said.

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