China’s stocks had a torrid day today ending in a negative territory apparently due to a computer glitch.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) said this afternoon that the department of investment strategy of Everbright Securities Company encountered a problem in its arbitrage system when it was operating on its own funds during the morning trade on the bourse.
So far there is no official conclusion as to whether there is a direct correlation between Everbright’s trading error and the market’s sudden surge, state-run
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched down 0.65 per cent or 13.43 points to end at 2,068.45. The Shenzhen Component Index shed 0.74 per cent or 60.78 points to finish at 8,168.09.
Combined turnover on the two bourses grew sharply to 250.6 billion yuan ($40.6 billion) from 189.3 billion yuan in the previous trading day.
The Shanghai Index peaked at 5.6 per cent at one point before pulling back to 3.19 per cent at the end of the morning trade, Xinhua reported.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country’s largest lender, and PetroChina, the nation’s biggest oil and gas producer, both rose briefly near the daily increase limit of 10 per cent in the morning trade.
The financial sector was the only winner today, with its sub-index edging up 0.16 per cent.
Ping An Bank Co Ltd gained 3.73 per cent to end at 10.58 yuan per share. Sealand Securities Co Ltd added 2.32 per cent to 13.25 yuan. The printing and packaging industry led today’s losses, with its sub-index falling 4.36 per cent.
Contemporary Eastern Investment Co Ltd lost 4.39 per cent to end at 9.37 yuan. Bluefocus Communication Group Co Ltd dipped 3.60 per cent to 45.02 yuan.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China’s Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, tumbled 3.0 per cent today to close at 1,132.09 points.