Markets fall on credit crunch, lackluster data

The domestic capital market showed even greater impatience to the recent lack of good news as the A-share index tumbled on Thursday to its lowest level since December 2012.

Analysts attributed the fall to investor concern about the economy's near-term state after the money-market rate climbed to a record high and Chinese manufacturing appeared to be set to worsen in June.

Investor expectation is now growing on the central government to launch new market-oriented reform initiatives, financial market specialists said.