Shares continue to drop

The Chinese stock market on Friday suffered its second sharp decline in three days since the government raised the trading tax, closing 2.65% lower to hover above the 4,000-point mark, according to state media reports (in Chinese). The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both yuan-denominated A-shares and hard-currency B-shares, closed at 4,000.74 points, down 108.91 points. The smaller Shenzhen Component Index saw a 3.95% drop, closing at 12,432.69 points, down 511.54 points. More than 700 stocks reported losses up to the daily limit of 10% on the two markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen.