Share prices plunge to two-year low

Reserve requirement ratio cuts benefit firms engaged in debt-for-equity swaps

Chinese stocks gave up early gains to close at a two-year low on Monday, as a reserve requirement ratio cut could not outweigh weak sentiment from trade tensions, the weakening yuan and deleveraging efforts.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined by 1.05 percent to 2859.34 points on Monday. The Shenzhen Component Index slid 0.9 percent and the ChiNext startup index fell 0.72 percent.