China stocks end Year of the Dog with the biggest loss since 2008
- China says it will ease foreign institutional investor access to its capital markets and encourage brokerage firms to increase investments in stocks
- Trade talks between the US and China went well, says US President Trump, giving a boost to market sentiment
Chinese stocks closed out the Year of the Dog with an 18 per cent loss, the worst plunge since the Year of Rat in 2008.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.3 per cent on Friday to close at 2,618.23, after trade talks between China and the US made progress and China further loosened restrictions on both domestic brokers and foreign institutions to invest in the capital markets.
Still, the index fell 18.2 per cent in the Year of Dog from February 22, 2018 to February 1, 2019, the biggest loss for a lunar year since the Year of Rat in 2008, when it plummetted nearly 57 per cent amid the global financial crisis.
The two previous Year of the Dog were also volatile for the index. The Shanghai Composite Index soared nearly 140 per cent in 2006, but plunged 30 per cent in 1994.
The start-up board index ChiNext gained 3.5 per cent on Friday to 1,271.27, the biggest jump in three months. But for the Year of Dog, it logged a 25.4 per cent drop.
The large-cap CSI 300 rose 1.4 per cent on Friday to 3,247.40. The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 2.7 per cent to 7,684.00.