More money is changing hands trading stocks in China than in the U.S., a market more than twice its size.
Combined turnover in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose to a record $380 billion on Thursday, exceeding the value of shares traded in the U.S on Wednesday by $132 billion, as the attached chart shows. Turnover in London was $8.9 billion on Wednesday.
Equity volume in China surged since late November as monetary easing and speculation of further stimulus ignited the world’s biggest rally. The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 6.5 percent on Thursday amid concern the government will take steps to cool gains in a market where individual investors account for 80 percent of trading. The gauge is up 72 percent in the past six months.
“China is the most active market in the world and the turnover rate is the fastest too,” said Hao Hong, the chief China strategist at Bocom International Holdings Co. in Hong Kong. “If volume dies, so will the index.”
Companies with a primary listing in China were valued at $9.3 trillion on Wednesday, making it the world’s second-largest market, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with $25 trillion for shares in the U.S., where turnover totaled $228.7 billion on Thursday.