China has banned major institutional investors from selling stocks at the open or close, and plans to track who is shorting

China has banned major institutional investors from selling stocks at the open or close, and plans to track who is shorting, per CNBC.

China's securities regulator has issued an order to major asset managers and brokerages' proprietary trading desks, according to sources familiar with the matter cited in the report.

These measures coincide with the China Securities Regulatory Commission's (CSRC) efforts, under its newly-appointed chairman Wu Qing, to stabilize a volatile market.

The CSI 300 index has experienced a seven-session rally spanning the Lunar New Year holiday, rising 12% from five-year lows earlier this month, amid expectations of more aggressive measures to revive the market.

Affected firms are now prohibited from selling more shares than they buy during the first and last 30 minutes of trading, as reported by Bloomberg.

Additionally, some brokerages have been instructed to recall stock loans used for shorting purposes, while hedge funds have been advised against placing concentrated sell orders.

There are few instances globally where regulators have intervened in closing trades. South Korea implemented a short-selling ban on stocks late last year, and China has previously discouraged large net short yuan positions at the end of a trading day during periods of significant downward pressure on the currency.