On March 18, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slid 151.15 points to close at 3,668.9, over 40 percent off from its peak of 6,124 on October 16, 2007.

The slide stopped the next day on news that the US Federal Reserve cut the interest rate. The Shanghai Composite Index rose by 2.53 percent to 3,761 on March 19 and the Shenzhen Component Index jumped by 4.45 percent to 13,044.

The rise on March 19 was hailed by the media the stock market was beginning to see the end of several months of lows, and was turning bullish again.