CRI听力:Chinese Stocks Hit New Low

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunged 6.5 percent to close at nearly 2,750 points, while Shenzhen declined by nearly 7 percent.

Altogether, nearly 1,000 stocks on the two bourses declined by the daily limit of 10 percent.

Investors say they have almost lost their morale amid the market volatility.

"The stocks fall down to the limit again. Almost all of the stocks that I have collected have been going down and seldom increase. Two of my stocks have lost 60 percent of their value. We have got used to it and won't make a fuss about it. The point is we don't know where is the bottom. But it doesn't matter. I'll probably leave them to my son."

"I think investors are Losing morale. Some take it as an extra source of their pension. It may turn out to be a huge sum of money. We can do nothing but keep positive mind."

The ChiNext Index, the NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, was the most battered, plunging towards the 2,000-mark during the afternoon session.

Losses swept across all sectors, with sub-indices related to textiles, furniture, and aviation suffering the most.

The oil sector suffered losses with the turbulent global oil prices resuming a decline after a fleeting recovery.

PetroChina lost 4.7 percent.

Guo Shuhua, a securities analyst from First Capital, explains elements that have caused the market drop.

"First, stocks overseas were down sharply, dragging down China's stocks. There was an obvious fast drop yesterday afternoon. Second, money gets tight as the deposit reserve is traditionally turned in to the treasury in January and people are likely to reserve money for the upcoming Spring Festival. Also, market sentiment remains tense. The psychological landscape changes as stocks drop below expectation, which fuels a market selloff. "

Market sentiment has remained tense even though more liquidity is being pumped into the capital market in order to stabilize interest rates.

Experts suggest investors fend off risks while overseas markets are volatile, commodity prices are continuously falling, and reserve requirements fail expectations.

Huanzheng is a senior investment consultant with the Western securities development and research center.

"I don't suggest investors buy stocks at rock-bottom prices under such conditions. the landscape of the market is complicated and is going through changes. And the market will keep tumbling ahead of the Spring Festival. I suggest investors focus on short-term risk prevention and control."

According to China's central bank, 360 billion yuan, around 55 billion U.S. dollars, was injected into the financial system to ease the strain on liquidity ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.