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     Asian Shares Mostly Positive After China 'Circuit Breaker' Deactivated

   by VOA News

   After twice triggering a "circuit breaker" mechanism earlier this week
   because of huge losses, Chinese stocks swung wildly in the first hours
   of trading Friday, but seemed to settle by midday.

   The trading halt, called a circuit breaker, was intended to calm
   markets, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect, so Chinese
   officials suspended the rule late Thursday.

   With the circuit breaker deactivated, the CSI300 index was up 1.75
   percent at 3,351.97 points in morning trade on Friday, while the
   Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.9 percent to 3,185.67 points by 0230
   UTC.

   Other Asian markets were also volatile early in the day, but many were
   edging toward positive territory. Hong Kong was 1 percent higher,
   having also swung from as much as 0.9 percent up to 0.7 percent down.

   Tokyo was up 0.4 percent by the break after a volatile and negative
   start. Sydney and Seoul also drifted in and out of positive territory.

   Chinese markets have had a turbulent start to 2016.

   Experts blame the global market plunge on investor worries that growth
   is slowing in China, the world's second-largest economy and a source of
   global economic growth for many years. Beijing recently moved to weaken
   the Chinese currency in a bid to bolster exports and growth, a move
   that nervous investors took as a sign that China's economy was even
   weaker than previously thought.

   Worries about growth in China and elsewhere are also hurting oil
   prices, as investors bet that less economic growth will cut demand for
   energy.  Investors were also shaken by North Korea's suspected nuclear
   test and tensions between key OPEC members Iran and Saudi Arabia.

   Also, regional issues, such as North Korea's testing of an alleged
   hydrogen bomb on Wednesday, have led to anxiety among investors.

   On Thursday, U.S. and European stock markets fell sharply after China
   again suspended trading.

   In New York, the Dow and the S&P 500 fell 2.3 percent or more, while
   the NASDAQ dropped around three percent by the close of trading.  In
   Europe, the CAC in Paris fell 1.7 percent while London's FTSE dropped
   2.7 percent.

   Earlier Thursday, Beijing's securities regulator cut off trading just
   14 minutes after business opened as the Shanghai Composite Index fell
   more than 7 percent.

   Jim Randle contributed to this report.
     __________________________________________________________________

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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/asian-shares-mostly-postivie-after-china-circuit-breaker-deactivated/3136381.html