“My husband has also lost money. It is very common,” she adds, shaking her head. Unlike many other stock markets, the majority trading on China’s exchanges are not banks and pension funds but individual investors like Wang.
Almost 90 million people hold shares, and according to state media estimates, the average loss since the market dropped has been more than 420,000 yuan (£43,000).
On the streets of Shanghai, everyone knows what is happening on the markets; even if they have not invested themselves, they know people who have – and who have lost money. Jimmy Liu and his friends are sitting outside in a narrow lane discussing it.
“My father lost a lot of money,” says Liu. “But he bought when it was low and he has confidence that in another year or two they will go back up,” he says.
He knows quite a few people who have lost money. Zhao Yan has seen all his previous gains wiped out, and has since lost almost 40% of his initial investment of 50,000 yuan (£5,200).
“I used to save money in the bank or buy some funds. I entered the stock market to vary my ways of managing my money,” he says.
There are mixed feelings on the streets of Shanghai’s central business district about whether the measures the government has introduced in recent days will be successful.
“The Chinese markets invest using feelings instead of techniques and rules,” says one private investor, Huang. Luckier or cannier than others, he says he left the market earlier and so did not lose money.
“I don’t think the government measures will be successful,” he says. “Even if it doesn’t go down further, it will be really hard for it to go back to where it was, because confidence has been defeated.”“It’s pretty hopeless,” says Wang, who has little hope of regaining her losses.
“I don’t want to sell now – it will keep collapsing.” The cause of the crash has been the subject of much speculation and rumour. The theory that there has been foreign interference has been popular online and in some media.
“I’ve read that foreign investment banks are short-selling in China and after the collapse of the stock market, because the price will be really low, they will start to buy in at that very low price and continue to take over the Chinese economy and cause a major financial crisis,” says Wang. Liu believes it is a global collapse, not restricted to China.
“There is nothing they [the government] can do. It is happening already in Greece and Europe and even America and Hong Kong. I don’t think the stock market can come back. It’s bad. The money has gone – gone into the wind.”
Zhao believes that those at management level are “arrogant and lack experience”. Buyers have been “greedy”, he adds. Their greed “boosted the markets when it was rising and led it to an unreasonably high position. Yet when the collapse arrived, the fear from buyers has been such a bad influence on the market.”
On Chinese social media websites, there was a mixture of despair and humour as shares continued to fall. “Wednesday stock market” was the most searched term on the social media website Weibo. “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, I can’t see hope. There is a deficit every day and I can barely hold on. Isn’t it reported to have stabilised?
Then please let it turn red!” said one user – reversing the western code, Chinese stock figures are shown in red for gains and green for losses. “It’s not the the bull market, neither is it the bear market, but … the monkey market,” was one popular joke.
“Last month during the rise, my dog eats what I eat. Last week, I eat what my dog eats. This week … I think I am gonna eat my dog,” was another widely shared joke.
theguardian.com
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