Quote from killATwill:
I spend some time in China. I can tell you public opinion of stocks is very similar to the US's during the tech craze.
A buddy of mine lost about 30% in a week and then told me he wants to buy more. Now is the time to buy he says. No fear among a lot of people because dip-buying has been rewarding.
Everywhere you see advertising for brokerage firms and PDAs that keep you abreast of your favorite stocks' charts: on the sides of buses and on the walls of elevators of luxury high-rises.
Many here believe two strange myths that help them rationalize buy and hold: the Beijing Olympics will keep the parabolic spike going, and the government will keep share prices up. Needless to say, many shares can be shorted quite easily on US exchanges without the Chinese gov intervention that so many seem to believe in.
Earnings for Chinese shares include the value of any stock holdings, marked to market. Therefore rises in the stock market trigger positive "earnings" suprises based on asset appreciation, which reinforce rises in the stock market. Any hiccup or sideways trading could easily cause an opposite effect - a negative wealth effect. In fact, it may have already started. Few seem concerned or interested in taking notice. Many are probably just buying more, ala 2000 for US tech stocks.