Why China is desperate to prop up the stock market

The massive bull market in Chinese stocks which propelled the benchmark Shanghai Composite to a gain of more than 150% in a little over six months before ending spectacularly in early June created a short-term sugar hit for China’s first-half economic growth. Guangdong, Beijing and Shanghai, the regions accounting for the largest proportion of China’s household stock ownership, received boosts from their sizeable financial services sectors in the second quarter, according to a report from Bl...