The stock market recovery that began in China last week after a slew of government steps to halt a crash ran abruptly out of steam on Wednesday, with markets dropping sharply in afternoon trade despite surprisingly positive economic data, Reuters reported. The CSI300 index fell 4.5% to 3,926.54 points, set for its biggest daily fall since July 8, when it closed down nearly 7%, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 4.1% to 3,764.18 points. The worsening sentiment caused index futures to go negative across the board. CSI300 stock index futures for July fell 5.1%, to 3,796.8, 129.74 points below the underlying index, while the small cap CSI500 index saw many contracts near their maximum 10% daily downside limit.
