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The electronic board showing prices on the Shanghai Stock Exchange flashes in front of investors in China. Photo: AFP

Live | China Markets Live - Shanghai and Shenzhen shares end lower as both ring up biggest monthly fall in 6 years

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index drops 6.15 per cent in July, the biggest monthly fall since September 2014

Welcome to the SCMP's live markets blog. The intense volatility of recent weeks has every chance of remaining the core underlying theme of activity. Investors are increasingly focused the broader question of how this episode might affect the wider economy as many suspect the equity bubble has yet to fully deflate. We'll bring you the key levels, trading statements, price action and other developments as they happen.

 

4:54pm: Hong Kong’s top five stocks on Friday by turnover: Tencent Holdings (orange), Ping An Insurance (purple), the high-flying China Mobile (green), AIA (blue) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (red). Closing percentage movement is against opening price. Click to enlarge.

4:45pm: The Hang Seng Index (orange) and China Enterprises Index (purple; AKA the H-shares index) tracking through the week (top chart) and month (bottom chart). The H-shares index of China companies has experienced more volatility and negative sentiment. click to enlarge.

 

 

 

4:38pm: Both Shanghai and Shenzhen Composites posted their biggest monthly decline since August 2009.

4:38pm: The Hang Seng Index finished down by 6.15 per cent for the month of July, the biggest single monthly drop since September 2014, when the Hong Kong benchmark fell more than 7 per cent in a single month.

4:13pm: The Hang Seng closed up 0.56 per cent to 24,636.28. The H share index fell .0.5 per cent to finish the week at 11,131.68.  

3:53pm: Foreign investors will be allowed to transfer either foreign currency or yuan funds into China to trade in the country’s commodity futures markets, the foreign exchange regulator said on Friday, Reuters reports.

The imminent opening of its booming commodity futures market is a major reform supporting Beijing’s efforts to increase its sway on global commodity pricing. China is the top global consumer of many raw materials -- from oil to cotton to soybeans. 

3:50pm: The Shanghai Composite Index gave up 14 per cent for the month of July, the biggest single monthly decline since August of 2009. 

About 2,000 companies in China’s two bourses finished in the red, with slim turnover.

Gains in infrastructure and white goods stocks was offset by mounting downward pressure seen in large-cap oil companies and banks.

3:46pm: The Shanghai Composite (orange) and Shenzhen Composite (purple) over time, showing a weak finish to the week (top chart) but a relative improvement on the lows of earlier in the month (bottom chart) – click to enlarge.

 

3:44pm: The Shanghai Composite (orange) spent much of the day depressed, while the ChiNext (blue) kept its head above water until late in the day when it dipped below the Shenzhen Composite (purple). The CSI 300 (green) finished best, reflecting stronger sentiment and/or stimulus directed toward large-cap stocks. Click to enlarge.

3:10pm: The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.13 per cent to finish at 3,663.73. The CSI300 Index lifted 0.03 per cent to close at 3,816.7. 

3:10pm: The Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 0.82 per cent in late trading to close at 2,110.62. The ChiNext fell 0.83 per cent to finish at 2,539.84.

3:10pm: The Hang Seng Index is down 0.05 per cent to 24,485.48. The H-shares Index stands at 11,085.43, down 0.47 per cent. 

2:57pm: China securities regulator asks for stock trading records from Hong Kong and Singapore in hunt for short sellers. For more on story, click here. 

2:50pm: The Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges listed 24 accounts banned from share-trading for three months as China’s securities regulator says it has started cracking down on programme trading that is blamed for adding volatility to the market.

Companies holding the accounts include two trusts and a couple of fund management firms in Shanghai and Shenzhen. 

2:25pm: Shanghai Stock Exchange lowered its transaction fee to 0.00487 per cent from 0.00696 per cent of the value per transaction, and offered a 30 per cent discount to bulk transactions, the bourse said on its website. 

2:19pm: Swire Properties announces it has formed a framework agreement with Shanghai Newbund Industrial Development to develop a retail project in Pudong, Shanghai.

The 50-50 proposed joint venture will build a retail development with an expected gross floor area of 124,000 square metres in Qiantan, Pudong, according to the company statement. No further details were given.

Its joint venture partner is a subsidiary of Shanghai Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone Development. 

2:07pm: Shenzhen Composite Index stands at 2,131.72, up 0.17 per cent or 3.75 points. ChiNext advances 0.60 per cent, or 15.30 points, to 2,576.50.

2:05pm: Shanghai Composite Index inches up 0.114 per cent or 4.21 points to 3,709.98. CSI300 Index lifts 0.689 per cent, or 26.29 points to 3,841.70. 

2:04pm: Hang Seng Index adds 0.43 per cent, or 105.01 points, to 24,602.99. H-shares Index stands at 11,253.81, up 0.43 per cent, or 48.17 points. 

1:08pm: Shenzhen Composite Index opens its afternoon session at 2,121.36, down 0.32 per cent or 6.79 points. ChiNext gains 0.14 per cent, or 3.70 points, to 2,564.89. 

1:06pm: Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.898 per cent or 33.26 points to 3,672.51 at open of afternoon trade. CSI300 Index slips 0.057 per cent, or 2.17 points to 3,813.24. 

1:05pm: Hang Seng Index goes up 0.46 per cent, or 113.01 points, to 24,610.99 at start of afternoon trade. H-shares Index stands at 11,191.41, up 0.49 per cent, or 54.08 points. 

12:32pm: The top five Hong Kong stocks by HK$ turnover at midsession today: Tencent up 0.77 per cent to HK$143.90; Ping An down 1.12 per cent to HK$44.25; AIA down 0.25 per cent to HK$49.85; ICBC flat at HK$5.36; China Mobile up 0.1 per cent to HK$100 exactly.

Click to enlarge (note the chart starts from today's opening price).

 

 

12:25pm: The price performance of the Shanghai Composite Index (orange), Shenzhen Composite Index (purple), CSI300 large-cap index (green) and ChiNext Price Index (blue) from opening until midsession today. 

 

The Hang Seng Index (orange) tracking against the more volatile China Enterprises (H-share) Index between opening and midsession today, each closing with slight gains.

 

12:09pm: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.40 per cent to end the morning trade at 24,595.51, driven by casino duo Galaxy Entertainment and Sands China, while the H-share Index increased 0.49 per cent to 11,191.86.

11:40am: The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1 per cent to end the morning trade at 3,669.45. The CSI 300 Index was little changed, giving up 0.08 per cent to 3,812.34.

11:40am: The Shenzhen Composite Index shed 0.42 per cent to settle midday at 2,119.24, while the ChiNext Board dipped 0.24 per cent to 2,555.07.

11:29am: Onshore spot yuan is trading at 6.2096 against the US dollar, unchanged from Thursday's close. The offshore yuan stands at 6.2196, stronger by six basis points from its Thursday finish.

11:28am: Hong Kong dollar is trading Friday at 7.7523 to the US dollar, near upper end of the currency peg. Euro/dlr stronger by 0.10 per cent at 1.0943. Dlr/yen at 123.99, weaker by 0.12 per cent. Pound/dlr stronger by 0.04 per cent to 1.5609. Australian dollar to US dollar stronger by 0.10 per cent to 0.7300. 

11:16am: Wealth management products totalling up to 2 trillion yuan on China’s over-the-counter (OTC) markets are awaiting approval from the Securities Association of China to buy shares in the stock market, financial magazine Caijing reports citing unidentified Chinese brokers.

The Association issued record-keeping rules for OTC securities transactions on Friday.  

10:51am: Stock prices of Mengniu Dairy and Ping An Insurance remain unappealing this morning, giving up 2.1 and 1.2 per cent respectively to touch their 10-day lows.

10:40am: Hang Seng Index was up 0.39 per cent to 24,592.84, with HK$22 billion worth of shares exchanging hands. 

In contrast to weakness in mainland Chinese stocks, the H-share Index rose 0.44 per cent to 11,186.

10:40am: Macau casino duo Sands China and Galaxy Entertainment extended their early gains, rallying 4.3 and 4 per cent, respectively. 

10:35am: The Shanghai Composite slid 1 per cent to 3,669.64, while CSI 300 index dipped 0.25 per cent to 3,805.86.

10:35am: The Shenzhen Composite eased 0.13 per cent to 2,125.39, while the ChiNext Board rose 0.35 per cent to 2,570.21.

10:34am: On a monthly basis, the Shanghai and Shenzhen Composites are on track to drop 14 and 13 per cent, respectively, in July, even though both of them remain in positive territory, up 13 per cent year to date each. 

The Hang Seng Index is on track to go down 6 per cent this month, while the H-share Index is on track to give up 14 per cent for the same period, underscoring weakness in Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies following a market rout in the mainland.

See chart below and click to enlarge. 

10:15am: Overall sentiment in Hong Kong and mainland stocks remain sluggish today, as the Hong Kong and Shanghai benchmarks are on track to finish in the red this week. 

The Hang Seng Index is on track to finish 2 per cent lower for the week ending July 31, while the H-share Index is on track to be down by 4 per cent. 

In the chart below, percentage shifts are from Monday's opening prices, not last Friday's closing. Click to enlarge.

10:15am: The Shanghai Composite Index is expected to trim 10 per cent following its 8.5 per cent plunge on Monday, while the CSI 300 Index of large-cap stocks is looking to drop by 9 per cent this week.

10:13am: Ta Yang Group, which manufactures keypads for electronic devices, has lifted 7 per cent to HK$1.67 on resumption of trading in Hong Kong after announcing it has entered into an MOU for a possible takeover.

The purchaser would acquire shares comprising 54 per cent of the company’s voting rights and would make an unconditional cash offer for all remaining shares.

10:04am: A twelve-month view of gaming stocks in Hong Kong and the US versus the Hang Seng (red) and the FTSE (yellow) – click to enlarge. 

Galaxy’s Hong Kong (green) and New York (blue) shares track each other closely, while US stocks for the more diversified Sands (purple) have outperformed their Hong Kong counterparts (orange).

9:49am: Shanghai-traded PetroChina fell 1.88 per cent to 11.49 yuan, while Sinopec shed 0.49 per cent to 6.13, after oil prices slipped over night as the US dollar strengthened. 

PetroChina in Hong Kong fell 0.39 per cent to HK$7.76, while Sinopec was up 0.17 per cent to HK$5.9, slightly higher than its previous 52-week high of HK$5.72.

9:45am: In Shanghai, large-cap stocks in banks and insurance companies were trading in the red, underscoring the downward pressure on major indices.

9:40am: Hong Kong-listed casino stocks led the gainers this morning after their US counterparts rallied over night. Galaxy Entertainment and Sands China rose more than 2 per cent each. 

9:38am: China Securities Regulatory Commission is investigating programme trading by some institutional and individual investors to figure out their identities, sources of funds and trading strategies, securities regulator spokesman Zhang Xiaojun says, adding programme trading has created volatility in the stock market rout. 

Programme trading is common among institutional investors and is usually executed if share prices drop or rise to a certain level.  A total of 24 accounts were restricted from doing programme trading by regulators.

9:36am: The Hang Seng Index rose 0.59 per cent to 24642.08, with HK$2 billion shares exchanging hands. The H-share Index was up 0.66 per cent to 11,211.

9:34am: The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1 per cent to 3,670.92 at the start of trade today, while the CSI 300 Index gave up 0.88 per cent 3,781.66. 

9:34am: The Shenzhen Composite Index shed 0.67 per cent to 2,114.78, while the ChiNext Board fell 0.92 per cent to 2,538.70.

9:27am: China Taiping Insurance announces an expected first half profit growth of 180 per cent or more, to HK$1.939 billion before audit. The improvement is attributed to persistent growth of the insurance business and a substantial increase in the realized gain from equity investments. 

Among other Hong Kong listed companies, Zhongzhi Pharmaceutical Holdings also forecasts profit growth, while Far East Holdings International expects to turn a profit from last year’s loss. 

Profits are projected to decrease for Jinmao ( China) Investments Holdings. Losses are forecast by North Asia Resources Holdings, Hailiang International Holdings, Sino Golf Holdings and Telefield International.

9:24am: The People’s Bank of China set the mid-price of onshore yuan trading at 6.1172, weaker by seven basis points to the US dollar from the Thursday mid-price fix.  

9:03am: Four Shanghai listed A-share companies applied to resume trading today while five others will suspend trading in their stock. The number of suspended companies in Shanghai is 79, representing 7.28 per cent of the total.

In Shenzhen, a total of 11 listed companies say they will resume trading on Friday, while two firms will suspend trading in their shares. Some 323 firms in Shenzhen are in voluntary suspension, accounting for about 18.5 per cent of the total listed companies.  

8:55am: The Hang Seng Index is expected to advance 0.1 per cent, while the Singapore-traded China A50 futures indicated the large-cap companies are seen rising 0.8 per cent.

8:53am: For roundup on action in Wall Street and global markets, click here.
8:50am: China Ruifeng Renewable Energy Holdings is looking to raise HK$1 billion in convertible bonds from an undisclosed mainland financial institution. For more click here.
8:36am: GLP, biggest provider of modern logistics facilities in China, to lower development targets in the country after reporting a 49 per cent increase in global earnings for the three months to June. For more, click here.

8:15am: China Cosco Holdings said late Thursday it was expected to post 1.9 billion yuan (HK$2.37 billion) in net profits for the first half of 2015.

The state-owned firm said subsidies for decommissioning and upgrading vessels accounted for the profit, which was announced in a positive profit warning in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Cosco lost about 2.3 billion yuan during the same period last year. 

8:12am: Chart of Hang Seng Index (yellow) and the H-share Index (purple) which track Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong on Thursday, July 30.Click to enlarge.

8:08am: Summary chart of the top five most traded stocks on Thursday July 30.

Tencent (yellow) was down 1.1 per cent to close at HK$142.8, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (purple) falls 1.83 per cent to HK$5.36, Ping An Insurance (green) slid 1.65 per cent to HK$44.75, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (blue) dropped 1.31 per cent to HK$210.2, and Bank of China (orange) down 0.94 per cent to HK$4.22.

The share price percentage is computed from the opening of the market and not from the previous close. Please click to enlarge.

8:00am: Banking giant HSBC and subsidiary Hang Seng  Bank, and local lender Bank of East Asia will announce their results on Monday.

Share price for year to date is shown in the chart below, click to enlarge. HSBC (orange) and Bank of East Asia (green) has been trading below the benchmark Hang Seng Index most of the year while Hang Seng Bank is beating the index.

The lenders will all release their interim result during the lunch break of the market and their top executives will meet the media later.

Bank of East Asia will host a briefing at 1:30 pm and many expect chairman David Li will be there.Hang Seng Bank chief executive Rose Lee will meet the press at 3 pm on the top floor of the bank’s headquarters.

HSBC chairman Douglas Flint and chief executive Stuart Gulliver will host a telephone conference call from London at 5:30 pm.

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