Mainland, HK stocks tumble with banks taking big hit

Asian stock markets skidded on Monday, led by a tumble in Chinese stocks, triggered by heightened concerns over liquidity crunch after the PBOC statement.

The Shanghai Composite nose-dived 5.3%, to drop below the critical 2,000 mark. A recent spike in interbank interest rates fuelled worries about the impact from tighter policies on the national economy. The longer this policy lasts, the more worries about banking-sector stability will be raised. It may also cause slower credit growth in the second half of the year.

The interbank rates have come down from historical highs seen last week, but still remains at a high level. Also, the ICBC denied rumors that says the central bank had injected 50 billion yuan into the market. This hurt Chinese banks and consumer financial stocks harder, banking stocks suffered steep losses. Chinese banks and consumer financial stocks suffered steep losses.

China Minsheng Bank shed 10%, its daily drop limit. ICBC, the world's largest bank by market value, gave up 3%. Property stocks also tumbled. Major developers including Gree Real Estate and Poly Real Estate, sank 10%.