China stocks tumble for second day, pulled down by financial sector

2008-09-17 07:16:07 GMT2008-09-17 15:16:07 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares tumbled 2.9 percent on Wednesday, dragged down by the losses of the heavy-weight financial sector.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed at 1929.05 points, down 57.59 points, or 2.9 percent. The Shenzhen Component Index closed at 6,680.06 points, down 193.55 points, or 2.82 percent.

BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The dramatic downward spiral events in New York continued to reshape the global financial system as major markets in America, Asia and Europe dropped sharply on Tuesday.

The seismic shake-up on the global markets all came after the fourth largest U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch fled into the arms of Bank of America. Full story

BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank said on Monday it would reduce the benchmark loan interest rate and the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks to ensure a steady and rapid economic growth.

The benchmark interest rate for one year yuan denominated loans will be adjusted down 0.27 percentage points from Tuesday, its first downward movement since October 2004.

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- New York stocks made landslide losses on Monday with Dow Jones shedding more than 500 points, as the U.S. financial turmoil battered investors' confidence in the health of economy.

Lehman Brothers, the fourth biggest U.S. investment bank, filed for bankruptcy Monday after two most serious buyers Barcklays and Bank of America (BOA) withdrew from talks to buy the firm. New York-based Lehman, the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage securities, has lost 94 percent of its market value this year after record losses from investments tied to mortgages.

NEW YORK, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The fourth largest U.S. investment bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., prepared to file for bankruptcy Sunday after Barclays PLC and Bank of America Corp. (BOA) pulled out from talks to buy the firm.

Barclays, the U.K.'s third biggest bank, and the BOA withdrew as they could not get guarantees from the government or other Wall Street firms to protect against potential losses on Lehman's assets. (www.sina.com)