Update | Shanghai and Shenzhen shares both tumble more than 6pc

The Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock markets suffered sharp corrections on Thursday, amid tougher measures by mainland and Hong Kong regulators and tighter margin lending.

The Shanghai Composite Index plunged 6.5 per cent to 4,620.27 points while the Shenzhen Component Index fell 6.19 per cent to 16,963.52 points. On January 19, the Shanghai Composite Index crashed 7.7 per cent in the biggest fall in more than six years.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 2.23 per cent or 626.9 points to 27,454.31 points, while the Hang Seng H-share Index closed down 3.53 per cent or 518.88 points to 14,183 points.

The total value of stocks traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen reached a new record of 2.42 trillion yuan, breaking Tuesday’s record of 2.16 trillion yuan.

The turnover of the Hong Kong stock market on Thursday was HK$208.62 billion

The website of state news agency Xinhua attributed the sharp correction partly to the recently toughened regulation of the capital markets by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

On May 22, the CSRC’s website announced a raft of penalties for illegal stock market activities. On May 26, CSRC chairman Xiao Gang said CSRC officials must observe central government’s “three strict and three honest” campaign to promote upright behaviour among officials. The CBRC conducted its “three strict and three honest” campaign for CBRC officials on May 19.