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Chinese shares end 1.93% lower

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-04 20:05

Chinese shares lost 1.93 percent on Wednesday, dragged down by telecom and financial heavyweights.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed at 3,369.91 points, down 66.49 points, or 1.93 percent from the previous close.

The Shenzhen Component Index fell 21.09 points, or 0.18 percent, to 11,970.48 points.

Combined turnover fell to 87.45 billion yuan ($12.61 billion) on Wednesday from 98.99 billion yuan on Tuesday.

The market continued the downward trend of the previous trading day, as China Unicom tumbled 8.86 percent to 8.74 yuan per share. The company announced two days earlier that it would acquire China Netcom as part of the country's telecom industry overhaul, but investors showed a lack of confidence in the industry restructuring plan.

Telecom shares on Hong Kong stock exchange rallied the domestic market downfall. China Mobile dropped 1.217 percent to HK$113.6 ($14.56), with China Unicom down 4.282 percent to HK$15.2, China Netcom down 3.39 percent to HK$22.8 and China Telecom down 0.808 percent to HK$4.91.

Among the top 10 heavyweights, only Sinopec managed to pick up 0.52 percent to 13.47 yuan.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, dipped 1.86 percent to 17.38 yuan, while China Shenhua, the country's largest coal producer, sank 4.73 percent to 45.68 yuan.

Financial shares fell across the board with performance still affected by the tight monetary policy, dealers said.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's biggest lender, slid 1.52 percent to 5.82 yuan and China Merchants Bank dropped 3.1 percent to 28.77 yuan. China Life, the country's biggest life insurer, fell 2.65 percent to 29.43 yuan.

Lin Weiwen, a Chinalion Securities analyst, said the market would go through corrections in the near future as market sentiment was still weak.

Real estate rose across the board on bargain taking as shares after several consecutive trading days of decline, with Wanke Group, China's largest real estate company, up 4.7 percent to 20.50 yuan and Poly Real Estate up 5.7 percent to 18 yuan.

Falling issues outnumbered rising stocks by 643 to 205 in Shanghai and by 526 to 145 in Shenzhen.