China stocks shed early gains as regulators move to curb speculation

** Shares in China's start-up firms plunged as investors retreated after a few stocks were suspended from trading due to "abnormal volatility" amid reports of government measures to crack down on speculation. ** The start-up board ChiNext Composite index, which gained more than 40% this year, fell 1.6% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index lost 1.38%.

China shares shed early gains to end lower on Thursday, as more than 300 start-ups slumped earlier in the session after regulators moved to curb speculation on the tech-heavy ChiNext board. ** Shares in China's start-up firms plunged as investors retreated after a few stocks were suspended from trading due to "abnormal volatility" amid reports of government measures to crack down on speculation.

** The start-up board ChiNext Composite index, which gained more than 40% this year, fell 1.6% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index lost 1.38%. More than 300 start-ups dropped more than 10% on Thursday, including 50 companies hitting their downside trading limits. ** Analysts said investor sentiment was dented after some ChiNext stocks, including Xinjiang Tianshan Animal Husbandry Bio-Engineering, were suspended from trading on Wednesday due to "abnormal volatility". ** Shares of Chinese telecom firms also tumbled, as pressure widened for Huawei Technologies with major suppliers expected to stop supplying to the telecom giant after new U.S. restrictions.

** The Shanghai Composite index was down 0.61% at 3,234.82, while the blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.06%. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.72%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.88%. ** About 31.25 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 94.5% of the market's 30-day moving average of 33.07 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 35.15 billion.