China stocks dive along with economic hopes

China stocks fell sharply again on Monday, reaching eight-month lows, as investors saw hopes for a strong economic recovery fade and worried about fresh regulatory curbs on speculation, Reuters reported. Following the market’s nearly 3% slump on Friday, China’s blue-chip CSI300 index fell 2.1%, to 3,065.62, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.8%, to 2,832.11 points. China April trade data, released on Sunday, doused investor hopes of a sustainable economic recovery, with both exports and imports falling more than expected. Recovery hopes were further dimmed by an article on Monday in the People’s Daily: It cited an “authoritative source” saying China’s economic trend will be “L-shaped”, rather than “U-shaped”, and definitely not “V-shaped.”