Asian stocks volatile, China market drops 8.4 pct

Aug 24, 2015 (LBO) – Shares in the Asian markets continued to fall as a result of the volatility in the Chinese stocks, foreign media reports said. Chinese shares continued their sharp fall on Monday as the mainland benchmark index, the Shanghai Composite, fell sharply by 8.4 percent to 3,211.75 points. Beijing announced over the week-end that it planned to let its main state pension fund invest up to 30 percent of its net assets in domestically-listed shares and other market instruments, including derivatives, the report said. In other Asian markets Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, fell 3.5 percent to 21,523.57 points in early trade and Japan’s Topix index dropped 3.3 percent, heading for a correction. Singapore’s Straits Times Index slid 2.3 percent, set for a three-year low while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index retreated 2.6 percent. Taiwan on Sunday slapped a ban on short-selling of borrowed stocks at prices lower than the previous day’s close, while South Korea’s finance ministry said it will act “pre-emptively” after the nation’s largest exchange-traded fund suffered the biggest weekly withdrawal since its inception 15 years ago. The Taiex index slumped 3.5 percent on Monday, while the Kospi index fell 0.7 percent in Seoul.