Chinese stocks tumbled again on Tuesday, despite a rebound in markets elsewhere in Asia, as investors despaired at the lack of policy action from Beijing in response to recent data suggesting the downturn in the world's second-largest economy is deepening. Major Chinese stock indexes nosedived more than 7 percent, hitting their lowest levels since December, following their more than 8 percent plunge on Monday that sent shockwaves through global financial markets. [MKTS/GLOB] China, one of the main engines of the world economy, has overtaken Greece at the top of the worry list of global investors, who fret its economy is growing at a much slower pace than the official 7 percent target for 2015. But unlike in July, when Beijing directed hundreds of billions of dollars into the market in an unprecedented rescue operation, policymakers have largely sat on their hands during the latest bout of turbulence, which began last week. "Global investors are cannibalizing each other. Calling it a market disaster is not an overstatement," said Zhou Lin, an analyst at Huatai Securities. "The mood of panic is dominating the market ... And I don't see any signs of meaningful government intervention." The CSI300 index .CSI300 of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen dropped 7.1 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC collapsed 7.6 percent to close below the psychologically significant 3,000-point level. [.SS] Underscoring the panic gripping the retail investors who dominate China's stock markets, all index futures contracts 0#CIF: 0#CIC: fell by the maximum 10 percent daily limit, pointing to expectations of even deeper losses.
