China cracks down further on short-selling

China unveiled new rules on Tuesday that it hopes will make short-selling of shares even harder, while the weakness seen in commodities extended to some Asian currencies.

The restrictions will make it more difficult for investors to profit from hourly changes, causing some of the country's major brokerages to put their short-selling businesses on hold.

This crackdown, led by China's stock exchanges and market watchdogs, forms part of a wider government plan to prevent the country's markets from collapsing.

Since June this year, the markets have lost almost one-third (30 per cent) of their value, causing concern across the globe.

Now, investors that borrow shares must wait at least 24 hours to pay back the loans to prevent them from selling and purchasing stocks on the same day.

According to the Shenzhen exchange, this practice may "increase abnormal fluctuations in stock prices and affect market stability".

The CSI300 index of blue chip Shanghai and Shenzhen stocks gained 1.2 per cent, rising to 3,617.49 - miles away from the 4,500 target set by Beijing which would demonstrate a return of confidence in the market.