Chinese stock market experienced a massive sell-off on Wednesday. Indexes plunged after the securities regulator warned of "panic sentiment" gripping investors. The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed down 6.8%. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 5.9%.
On the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, trading halts were issued for over 500 Chinese listed companies with suspensions totaling near 1,300 or 45% of the market. About $2.4 trillion worth of stocks were on hold as firms opted to sit out the sell-off carnage.
A huge round of margin calls forced leveraged investors to dump whatever shares they could, when a buyer could be found.
Blue chips supported by stabilization funds earlier in the week bore the brunt of the sell-off.
Since mid-June, Chinese shares have gotten a 30% hair-cut.
Fear that the market turmoil in China will destabilize the real economy has become a bigger risk than the crisis in Greece, for many global investors.
As Beijing has struggled to bend the market at will for over a week, the People's Bank of China said it would step up support to brokerages enlisted, in further attempts to prop up shares.
Contributed by Millennium Traders