China restricts short selling

China has announced one of its toughest measures to date to combat the decline in its stock indexes. China’s capital markets regulator has approved a short-selling margin increase rule starting July 22. Meanwhile, the country’s largest equity lender, China Securities Finance Corp., will suspend lending to brokerages starting July 11. The measures announced on Wednesday come after the CSI 300 index fell six times in the last seven trading days. The market value of mainland Chinese stocks has fallen by about $1 trillion since their peak in mid-May. The move could boost prices in stocks with a high short position, but its impact on the broader market is likely to be limited, according to Redmond Wong, strategist at Saxo Capital Markets.