China Stocks Sink in Late Trade With Volatility at 18-Year High
- Shanghai Composite Index plunges in last half hour of trading
- Uncertainty over level of state support causes confusion
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China’s stocks sank in the last 30 minutes of trading in thin volumes as traders tested the limits of state support amid the biggest price swings since 1997.
The Shanghai Composite Index slid 2.1 percent to 3,086.60 at the close, wiping out an advance of as much as 1.7 percent, as material and drug companies slumped. The benchmark gauge jumped 4.9 percent on Wednesday in a last-hour rally -- the hallmark of state-backed fund buying -- after falling dropped 6.1 percent in the first two days of the week.