China major stock indexes opened down sharply on Monday as investors failed to take inspiration from the formalization of rules allowing pension funds to invest in the stock market over the weekend.
Many investors had expected the central bank to cut reserve requirement ratios at banks over the weekend, freeing up fresh liquidity for investment, but the People's Bank of China (PBOC) held off.
The CSI300 index fell 3.8 percent to 3,454.60 points at the open, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 3.8 percent to 3,373.48 points.
China CSI300 stock index futures for September also tumbled 3.8 percent, to 3,348.2, 106.40 points below the current value of the underlying index.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 3.6 percent, to 21,605.97 points.
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