Live | China Markets Live - See-sawing Chinese and Hong Kong markets end weakly as rate cuts fail to inspire

Welcome to the SCMP's live markets blog. The intense volatility of recent weeks has every chance of remaining the core underlying theme of activity. Investors are increasingly focused the broader question of how this episode might affect the wider economy as many suspect the equity bubble has yet to fully deflate. We'll bring you the key levels, trading statements, price action and other developments as they happen.

Here’s a summary of market action: 

• Chinese markets whip-sawed by sharp swings
• Shanghai's afternoon surge fizzles as index ends day down 1.27 per cent
• Shenzhen closes 3.05 per cent off as afternoon rally of 1.8 per cent dissipates in late spelling spree
• Hong Kong settles lower as market fails to hang onto gains
• Investors seem to be waiting for more stimulus measures from Beijing after interest rate, RRR cuts  

4:09pm: The Hang Seng Index drifted further to close on 21,080.39 points, down 1.52 per cent or 324.57 points. The H-shares index recorded a decline to 9,427.93, down 0.91 per cent or 86.11 points.  

3:25pm: China markets today: the Shanghai Composite Index (orange), Shenzhen Composite (green), CSI 300 (purple) and ChiNext (blue). Click to enlarge.

3:12pm: The Shanghai Composite Index sank at the end to close on 2,927.29 points, down 1.27 per cent or 37.68 points. The CSI 300 dropped to 3,025.65, down 0.57 per cent or 17.24 points.