China Stocks Plummet 6.5 Percent

China’s stock market plummeted Wednesday after China’s Finance Ministry said it would triple the tax on stock trades to cool the world’s hottest stock market.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index finished down 6.5 percent at 4,053.09. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 7.2 percent to close at 1,199.45.

Most other Asian markets also fell, but only slightly — unlike when Chinese shares nosedived 8.8 percent in February and markets worldwide tumbled in tandem.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.86 percent and Tokyo’s Nikkei Index lost 0.48 percent.

European markets also fell but less than those in Asia.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index dropped 0.2 percent to 393.65. France’s CAC 40 slid 0.2 percent while Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.07 percent. Germany’s DAX Xetra 30 slipped 0.2 percent.

China’s Ministry of Finance tripled China’s trading-transaction charge, known as a stamp tax, to 0.3 percent from 0.1 percent, effective immediately, the ministry said in a statement.

The move is part of a government plan to promote the healthy development of the country’s securities markets, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Last Wednesday, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he feared a dramatic contraction in Chinese stocks.