Chinese stocks plunged on Tuesday as investors rushed to cash out following a wobbly recovery in recent weeks. The Shanghai Composite index lost 6.1 per cent, while the Shenzhen Composite shed 6.6 per cent — their biggest daily losses since July 27. The latest rout casts doubt on whether the unprecedented market rescue efforts that the government undertook amid the dramatic fall in share prices that began in late June have succeeded in restoring confidence. The Shanghai Composite lost 35 per cent in roughly three weeks after hitting a 7-year high on June 12. But after an emergency rescue effort that involved at least $144bn in funds from state-owned banks, the market had appeared to regain its footing. The securities regulator said on Friday that China Securities Finance Corp (CSF), the state-owned margin lender that had served as the main conduit for injecting rescue funds into the market, would no longer conduct daily interventions.