China's Shanghai Composite closed down 33.64 pts (-0.88%) at 3,767.23 on Oct. 14 (Wed). Shenzhen Composite closed down 243.11 pts (-1.97%) at 12,110.59. CSI 300 Index closed down 58.00 pts (-1.36%) at 4,217.68. ChiNext fell 91.58 pts (-3.10%) to 2,866.76. STAR 50 Index fell 46.92 pts (-3.29%) to 1,380.26.

Shenzhen’s maternity insurance fund disbursed 6.359 bln yuan in the first nine months, covering 2.1977 mln beneficiaries; maternity allowance payments totaled 4.922 bln yuan and are paid directly to individuals. The city has added eight assisted‑reproduction procedures—egg retrieval, embryo culture, embryo transfer, embryo biopsy, artificial insemination, sperm selection/processing, sperm retrieval and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)—to medical insurance reimbursement under category‑1 outpatient‑special treatment standards, with reimbursement rates up to 90%.

IMF managing director says UK government appears to recognize the need to stick to a debt-reduction policy.