Stocks plunge 3% as profit growth slows

The main stock index sank 3 percent yesterday after corporate earnings for the first half of this year confirmed a trend of slowing earnings growth.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended down 3.01 percent at 2325.14 points, off the day's low of 2311.73 but not far from a 20-month low of 2284.59 hit in mid-August.

Turnover in Shanghai A shares was very thin at 28.6 billion yuan, down from Friday's 37.1 billion yuan.