Shanghai stocks down 7.7% after worst one-day tumble in six years

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 7.7% Monday marking the worst trading day in six years after regulators punished three of China’s biggest brokers for violating margin lending rules on Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported. Until now, Chinese brokers have been spearheading the surge of margin trading, with big plans to raise even more funds that clients will plow back into the stock market. Figures from Bank of America Merrill Lynch place margin trading levels in China among the highest in the world, already up 9% in 2015, putting the balance at RMB1.1 trillion (US$177 billion) as of Friday.