On Wednesday, shares across China managed to tumble further to hit a new three-month low, in a decline that was mainly led by all major financial companies on the back of looming concerns about the Government's tightening of credit.

The tracker of both A and B shares, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, closed the session after losing 1.1%, or 32.78 points, at 2986.61 points, which is the lowest level hit by the index since October 29, when it fell to a low of 2960.47. During the past four consecutive trading sessions, the index has managed to fall by 5.6%.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, on the other hand, slipped by 0.8% or 8.77 points to 1103.64 points. Experts and analysts have shared that they are currently expecting the Shanghai index to continue consolidating around 3000 over the week, mainly because of concerns about further tightening of monetary policies. "There are expectations of an interest rate hike, and the sooner it comes, the better for the markets because there will be less uncertainty", said Gary Goh, a trader at a Singapore-based securities firm.

News 36 Jump in Earnings Reported by Canon for Fourth-Quarter on Robust Camera Sales Tag: US On Wednesday, Canon Inc. reported that its group net earnings managed to rise by over five times year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2009, mainly on the back of strong sales of digital cameras, and the company is now expecting earnings and revenue for 2010 to rise for the first time in three long years.

For three months up-to December 31, 2009, the giant Japanese manufacturer of electronics reported net earnings of Y61.56 Billion, which is a very significant rise when compared to the figure of Y11.62 Billion posted for 2008's last quarter. Also, the earnings have managed to beat the expectations pegged by analysts, which stood at Y47.31 Billion.

Year-on-year operating profit grew by more than two times to Y92.13 Billion from Y35.83 Billion. Revenue, on the other hand, managed to slip by 4.1%, to Y954.06 Billion. "We're no longer stuck with inventories, so our factory operating rate should improve", said managing director Masahiro Osawa.