No sense in forecasting the direction of a bipolar market

Let me quote Forrest Gump to describe China's stock market: "It is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." In just a few days, the market turned from heaven to hell.

Last week, Chinese investors were taken by surprise when the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunged 13.3 percent, its worst weekly performance since the global financial crisis in 2008. More than 9 trillion yuan ($1.45 trillion) in market value evaporated, which translates into a loss of 45,000 yuan for each of the country's registered 200 million stock accounts.

A bloodbath for small investors.