China stock markets among world's worst-performing in 2016

China is the world's second-largest economy and has one of the fastest growth rates of any G20 nation, but its stock markets have been among the worst performing in the world this year. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) closed Friday down 12.3 percent for the year, compared to a rise of 0.4 for Japan's Nikkei 225, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also rose 0.4 percent. China was vying with debt-ridden Portugal for last place among the 40-plus countries tracked by Wall Street Journal'