A court yesterday rejected a suit filed by a man from Zhejiang Province against a newspaper that he said had misled him over the recent stock-trading stamp tax increase that sparked a 6.5-percent dip in the market.

Shanghai Pudong New Area District People's Court said a report in the paper, whose name has not been released, which quoted an expert as saying he had "not heard of any hike in the near future", was intended only as a reference for readers. It should not have influenced the man, surnamed Guo, in terms of his trading decisions.

The information was not directly responsible for Guo's loss, according to a release issued by the court. The court informed Guo of its decision yesterday and mailed back his indictment. Guo said he would accept the ruling and not appeal.

The case is the first to be triggered by the government's recent efforts to cool down the stock market, although the trend since the start of this month has once again been upward.

On May 30, the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 6.5 percent from a high of 4335.96 to 4,053.09 after the Ministry of Finance said it would triple the then 0.1 percent stock trading tax.

The hike is considered the government's toughest measure so far to rein in the market. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index also plunged 7.19 percent on the same day.

But just a week prior, Guo read a report on the front page of the accused newspaper, allegedly a renowned financial publication, which claimed there would be no adjustment to the stamp tax in the near future.

Guo told the court he had been closely monitoring rumors about a stamp tax hike, but the report convinced him it would not happen.

He said he changed his investment strategy based on the report and on May 29, purchased 2,000 shares in SST Changling at 11.2 yuan each.

After the tax rise was announced, the price began to slide, falling to 9.88 yuan on May 31 and putting Guo 2,640 yuan out of pocket.

He blamed the newspaper for his loss and chose to sue.

(China Daily June 14, 2007)