Chinese stocks sink 9% as markets reopen to crisis after break

HONG KONG: Chinese stocks plummeted by the most since an equity bubble burst in 2015 as they resumed trading to the worsening virus outbreak.

The CSI 300 Index dropped as much as 9.1% as onshore financial markets opened for the first time since Jan. 23. China’s benchmark iron ore contract fell by its daily limit of 8%, while copper, crude and palm oil also sank by the maximum allowed. The yield on China’s most actively traded 10-year government bonds dropped the most since 2014. The yuan weakened 0.8% to the cusp of 7 per dollar.