Chinese shares trade lower again

After days of volatility Chinese equities traded lower once again on Thursday, despite Beijing’s efforts to calm markets.

The mainland’s benchmark Shanghai Composite closed 3.4% lower at 3,664.29.

The negative open comes after the index had seen strong volatility since the beginning of the week.

Traders appeared not to respond to efforts by the central bank to provide more liquidity to stabilise markets.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was also pulled lower, closing down 1.8% at 22,757.47.

Elsewhere in Asia
Shares across the rest of Asia also fell on Thursday over worries about China’s slowing growth and volatile equities.

Sentiment was also dampened by the weak lead from Wall Street overnight where oil companies saw sharp declines after another drop in the price of crude.

The minutes from the July meeting of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, also failed to inspire markets.

The minutes showed policymakers thought conditions for a US rate rise “were approaching”, but there remained worries over inflation and the strength of the global economy.

The region’s largest stock market, Japan, closed down. The Nikkei 225 index ended day down 0.9% at 20,033.52 points.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index finished with a sharp drop of 1.7% to 5,290.50 points.

Shares in the country’s flagship carrier Qantas dropped by more than 6% despite the airline reporting a return to full-year profit earlier in the day.

In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index finished 1.3% down at 1,914.55 points.