Stock market to lift ban on shares worth $5b

BEIJING - China's stock market will lift a ban on restricted shares with a combined market value of 30.9 billion yuan (5 billion U.S. dollars) during the next trading week, according to the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

From June 24 to 28, restricted shares from 24 listed companies will become tradable, with the combined market value of restricted shares from three of the companies alone reaching more than 3 billion yuan.

Chinese shares slumped on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index diving 2.77 percent to end at 2,084.02 after HSBC data showed that manufacturing activity fell to a nine-month low this month.

The Shanghai Composite Index continued to drop on Friday at 2,073.10over worries of a possible cash crunch.