At the beginning, the downward trend was relatively mild. However, after three o'clock, as the short-sellers gradually began to exert their strength, the decline suddenly became brutal. A massive red candlestick plummeted straight from the highest point, as if leaping off a cliff — virtually falling to the very bottom. Moreover, Hanhai made no moves nor did it request a trading halt even after the circuit breaker threshold was breached.
In just a few minutes, Hanhai's stock price plunged by over 20%, and it was still sinking rapidly. Even though the bulls made a brief effort to push back, it was all in vain.
Hanhai had already halted trading too many times before and couldn't depend on such measures perpetually. Although word among the public spread about Hanhai's CEO's wife being kidnapped and tragically not surviving, there was plenty of sympathy from onlookers. But sympathy doesn't translate into the business world — especially in the stock market.
