China Charges Three For Stock Futures 'manipulation'

SHANGHAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Augst,2016) - China has formally charged three people for manipulating the stock futures market, a government statement said Thursday, as authorities seek to limit volatility following a share collapse last year. Two executives from an import-export company and an employee at a futures firm used 31 accounts under other Names to buy and sell stock index futures using high-frequency trading software, state media have previously reported. Shanghai's benchmark index plunged more than 40 percent from its peak in mid-June of 2015, as a bubble burst after the government loosened limits on trading with borrowed money and encouraged buying with glowing commentary in state-controlled media.

Authorities have since blamed volatility in stock futures as one of the factors behind the falls, and began restricting such trading as part of moves to rescue the market. Shanghai prosecutors said in a statement they had charged the general manager of trading firm Yishidun, Gao Yan, and its business development manager Liang Zezhong, as well as Jin Wenxian, the technical director of China Fortune Futures. The three were arrested last November.