Chinese market plunges 8 per cent in 3 mins

Shanghai's index gained more than 150 per cent in the 12 months to the middle of last month but has since fallen by more than 30 per cent. Photo / AFP

Extreme volatility is continuing to plague China's sharemarkets, with the Shanghai Composite Index plunging 8.2 per cent in the first three minutes of trading today in the biggest sell-off since 2007.

The Shenzhen Composite fell 8.2 per cent, while the CSI 300, an index of small companies across the two exchanges, fell 8 per cent.

The Financial Times reported that around 43 per cent of companies listed on both exchanges have now suspended trading in order to avoid the sell-off.

The Shanghai Composite has gained back some ground following its initial plunge and was down 4.4 per cent at 2.20pm (NZ time).

The recovery was likely driven by a statement released by the People's Bank of China, shortly after the market opened, which said "ample liquidity" would be provided through loans and bonds in a bid to stop the sell-off.

Shanghai's index rallied by more than 150 per cent in the 12 months to the middle of last month in a meteoric rally driven largely by domestic investors trading on borrowed funds, but has since fallen by more than 30 per cent.

The Chinese Government has introduced a range of measures aimed at halting the sharemarket crash, but they haven't had the desired effect.

The emergency measures include a freeze on new share listings and a change to rules on margin trading (using borrowed money to trade shares).

And more than 20 of China's biggest brokerages have said they will invest at least 120 billion yuan into Chinese exchange traded funds.

Meanwhile, other markets across Asia are also falling sharply today.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, which has previously been relatively insulated from the Mainland Chinese volatility, was down 4.7 per cent at 2.50pm.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 was down 1.56 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.45 per cent.

New Zealand's S&P NZX 50 had lost 0.41 per cent.

ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie said yesterday that it was worrying that "quick fixes" aimed at halting the Chinese stock sell-off did not appear to be working.

"What you've seen over the past week and a half is them literally throwing the kitchen sink at this thing to try and stabilise it," Bagrie said.

"If they don't manage to stabilise it I think it will send a very disconcerting sign about the health of the underlying Chinese economy."