CSI300 drops over 20% from June peak, entering bear market by some measures
Chinese mainland shares fell further on Friday as a global tech selloff, Middle East tensions and French debt worries drove investors toward safer assets. The CSI300 dropped 1.1% and is now down more than 20% from its June 22 high.
The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.9% in early trade, adding to Thursday’s session, when it closed at its lowest level in over a year and the CSI300 ended at its weakest point since July 2025.
By one common threshold, a decline of 20% or more from a recent high counts as a bear market, and the CSI300 now meets that bar measured from its June 22 closing peak. By a stricter definition tied to the index’s 2007 record, it has effectively stayed in bear-market territory ever since.
The pressure on mainland equities mirrored a broader pullback in global markets overnight, as investors cut exposure to riskier assets. Weakness in artificial-intelligence-linked technology shares on Wall Street fed worries about stretched valuations in the sector, while attacks on Saudi Aramco infrastructure added to geopolitical risk in the Middle East. Renewed concern over French government debt also weighed on sentiment.
Analysts at UOB said the combination of these pressures had pushed global markets toward safer assets, a shift reported by Reuters.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was comparatively resilient, trading little changed on Friday even as mainland benchmarks extended their decline.
For markets, continued weakness in Chinese equities can dampen risk appetite more broadly, often weighing on commodity-linked currencies and demand-sensitive assets, while a flight to safety tends to support government bonds and the US dollar.
Source: Economic Times Markets