Chinese Authorities Warn Investors Against Selling Stocks as Market Continues to Plummet

Chinese authorities have instructed some institutional investors not to sell stocks in an effort to stabilize share prices, following a steep decline in the first weeks of the new year. Market regulators have been providing private instructions, known as "window guidance," to prevent net selling of equities on certain days. However, as restrictions on some smaller mutual funds and brokers were eased, the benchmark CSI 300 stock index reversed its gains and is down more than 4% this month. The recent interventions have differed from Beijing's typical playbook, and financial regulators are under pressure to end the protracted sell-off that has left the CSI 300 down 19% in the past year.