Chinese police find signs of manipulation in $3.2-trillion stock market crash

Chinese police probing the massive stock market crash that wiped about $3.2 trillion of capital out of the market on Sunday claimed to have found clues pointing to certain trading firms suspected of “manipulating” futures trading. “The investigation team led by China’s Vice-Minister of Public Security Meng Qingfeng has found clues of manipulation”, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, stating that the team is currently carrying out further probes. It did not provide other details.

Chinese police joined the securities regulator to probe clues related to recent chaos in the stock market. The investigation team visited the head office of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in Shanghai on Thursday to investigate what it called “malicious short-selling of stocks and stock indices”, an example of the dodgy practices many believe were part of the recent stock crash over the past few weeks.

After China’s key stock index plunged by over 30 per cent from its June 12 peak, the government has stepped in with various measures to stabilise the market, including pouring in funds and restricting futures trading on a major small-cap index.

On the back of the government announced supportive measures, the stock market staged a strong rebound for a second consecutive day on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surging 4.54 per cent to end at 3,877.8 points.