China’s Stocks Drop Below 2,000 as Trading Value Hits 2008 Low

China’s stocks fell, with the benchmark index closing below 2,000 for the first time since 2009, as the value of shares traded slumped to the lowest in four years. Material and health-care companies led losses.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.3 percent to 1,991.17 at the 3 p.m. local-time close, its lowest level since Jan. 23, 2009. Shares worth 33.1 billion yuan ($5.3 billion) changed hands in the measure yesterday, the least since Nov. 7, 2008, while data showed that the number of A-share trading accounts that made transactions last week fell to 5.6 million, the lowest for a five-day week since at least January 2008.