Fall in mainland bourses led by finance, commodity shares

Mainland exchanges fell Monday as investors sold stocks amid government efforts to curb margin trading.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 7.70 percent or 260.14 points to 3,116.35 points on Monday. It was the steepest one-day drop since June 2008.

The Shenzhen Component Index plunged by 6.61 percent or 761.87 points to 10,770.93 points.

The CSI 300 Index of the biggest companies traded on the bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen tumbled by 7.70 percent to 3,355.16 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses was 701.33 billion yuan ($112.81 billion), up from the previous trading day's 624.11 billion yuan.

Brokerages, banks, insurers and coal and oil stocks led the drop in the markets, falling more than 9 percent on average on Monday.

The plunge came after the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) took measures to curb margin trading.

The CRSC suspended three brokerage firms - Citic Securities, Guotai Junan Securities and Haitong Securities - from opening new accounts for lending money and stocks for three months. The regulator also announced punishments for nine other brokerages for violating rules in their margin trading business.

Investors fear the move to clamp down on margin trading could slow the upward trend in the mainland stock markets. The Shanghai Composite Index has risen by 56 percent in the past 12 months and margin trading is believed to have contributed to the rally.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups, fell 0.58 percent to 1,630.07 points on Monday.