China’s stock market slips below Japan’s with Shanghai the worst performer

Yesterday, Chinese shares were worth US$ 6.09 trillion, compared to Japan’s US$ 6.17 trillion. China’s stock market had surpassed Japan in late 2014. The trade is due to the trade war with the United States but also the national debt. So far this year, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 17 per cent.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – China just lost its ranking as the world’s number two stock market.

After yesterday’ drop, Chinese equities were worth US$ 6.09 trillion, compared with Japan’s US$ 6.17 trillion. The US still has the world’s largest stock market at just over US$ 31 trillion.

According to Bloomberg, China’s stock market overtook Japan’s in late 2014, then soared to an all-time high of more than trillion in June 2015.

Later, with the slowdown in the world economy, a government-led campaign to cut debt and this year’s trade war with the US, Chinese stocks took a beating.

So far in 2018, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 17 per cent, the world’s worst performer. Some industrial and tech stocks have lost up to 20 per cent.

China’s Politburo, which runs the one-party state, signalled on Tuesday that policy makers will focus more on supporting economic growth through different projects. Yet, the Shanghai Composite Index suffered its worst week since early February.

The fall of Chinese equities increased this week, after the US administration threatened to increase tariffs by 25 per cent on US$ 200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

• china
• japan
• stock exchange
• shanghai composite index
• debt
• trade war
• economic reform