Mainland stock market halts trading early after CSI300 falls 7%

Mainland equities were hit by a sharp selloff on Monday that tripped a circuit-breaker mechanism and shut down trading early in the afternoon, The Wall Street Journal reported. Among possible triggers for the selloff, which pushed the CSI300 index down 7% on the year’s first trading day, were weak manufacturing data and concerns that a six-month ban on selling stock for major shareholders – put in place during the summer stock rout – is set to expire on Friday, which could trigger more selling. An initial 15-minute halt on trading after a 5% drop failed to cool things down, as stocks then declined to 7% within minutes after trading resumed.