Q2 GDP of 7% does little to boost bourses on the mainland

The Shanghai Composite Index slid 3% to 3805.70 on Wednesday despite better-than-expected economic news as the National Bureau of Statistics announced gross domestic product rose to 7% in the second quarter, Bloomberg reported. With 701 stocks halted on mainland exchanges and at least another 1,240 falling by the 10% daily limit, sellers were locked out of about 67% of the Chinese market. “There’s profit taking after the market’s recent rebound,” said Jeffrey Chiu, a trader at Winnington Capital. “The market will slowly come down again and we will see more consolidation. There are people who believe into the government’s measures and those who don’t.”