A street side fruit vendor has his face covered as a precaution against the coronavirus in Kolkata, India, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. With a surge in coronavirus cases in the past few weeks, state governments in India have been ordering focused lockdowns in high-risk areas to slow down the spread of infections. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

A cat stretches on top of dried seafood in a shop in the Sheung Wan district of Hong Kong on August 7, 2020. International Cat Day, celebrated on August 8, is a day to raise awareness for cats and learn about ways to help and protect them. (Photo by Isaac Lawrence/AFP Photo)

A man carries a sack of corn through the Comayaguela market on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, days after general eletions in Honduras, Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Free Party presidential candidate Xiomara Castro, the wife of ousted former president Manuel Zelaya, has taken a commanding lead in Honduras' elections, capping a 12-year effort. (Photo by Moises Castillo/AP Photo)

Thousands of bright Red Potatoes are washed and sorted at a vegetable market. Workers hose down tons of the vegetables before packing them into sacks at the market in Shibganj Upazila, Bogura, Bangladesh on February 19, 2023. The Red La Soda spuds are then taken to the country's capital Dhaka. (Photo by Mustasinur Rahman Alvi/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A vender arranges goods for sale at a market on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, January 10, 2024. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

A potential bidder carefully examines pieces of Tuna in order to ascertain the quality and to estimate its price ahead of the Tuna auction at the Tsukiji fish market on February 28, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak /Getty Images)

A pigeon stretches its wings in the Ka Faroshi bird market in Kabul on July 16, 2022. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

Some are in it just for the money, others to help buy a meal. Then there are those who trade for fun or to spend time among friends. Millions of investors – pensioners, security guards, high-school students – dominate China's stock markets, conducting about 80 percent of all trades. Retirees gather in brokerage houses dotted around China also to enjoy some company and savour the air conditioning on hot days. Some start as young as 13, trading from home with an eye on future careers in finance. Winning isn't guaranteed. This year, among the most turbulent in China's financial history, its stock markets more than doubled in the six months to May, only to crash amid concerns that growth in the country, which makes everything from cars to steel, is slowing faster than previously thought. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)