Chinese stocks suffered another steep decline on Tuesday, pushing the Shanghai Composite below 3,000 points for the first time since December and extending the country’s worst sell-off in almost two decades.

The benchmark Chinese stock index sank 7.6 per cent, while the Shenzhen Composite lost 7.1 per cent. The Shanghai market has tumbled 22 per cent over the past four trading sessions, marking its fastest retreat since daily price move limits were introduced in 1996.

PetroChina, the country’s biggest company by market capitalisation, fell by the maximum 10 per cent, while ICBC, the largest mainland lender, shed 5.1 per cent. In total, more than 2,000 companies listed across China’s two exchanges dropped by the 10 per cent limit, while only 24 stocks rose.