Mainland equities decline on foreign investment slump

China's stocks fell, dragging the benchmark index down by the most in more than two weeks, as data showing foreign direct investment sank for a fifth month underscored concern Europe's debt crisis is hurting the economy.

China Vanke Co and Poly Real Estate Group Co led a gauge of property developers to the biggest loss among industry groups after the Xinhua News Agency reported Shanghai won't loosen its property curbs. Jiangxi Copper Co and Aluminum Corp of China Ltd slumped at least 1 percent on concern the worsening European debt crisis will sap demand for commodities. Tonghua Golden-Horse Pharmaceutical Industry Co slid 3.4 percent after the drug regulator suspended sales of its products.

"Recent economic and industry data continue to point to a weakening economy and corporate earnings growth is expected to decelerate as well in the first quarter," said Wei Wei, an analyst at West China Securities Co in Shanghai.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 22.04 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,334.99 at the close, its biggest drop since March 29.

The CSI 300 Index declined 1.3 percent to 2,541.88. Thirty-day volatility in the Shanghai index was at 18.1 on Tuesday, near a one-week low. About 8.6 billion shares changed hands on Monday, 1.2 percent lower than the daily average this year.

The Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday in Beijing that inbound investment fell 6.1 percent in March from a year earlier to $11.76 billion, after a 0.9 percent decline the previous month and a 32.9 percent jump in March last year. Spending in China by EU companies slumped by a third in the first two months of the year while US investment rose less than 1 percent, according to ministry data.

"Investment growth is likely to slow as foreign investors are less upbeat on the outlook for China's economy," Dariusz Kowalczyk, a Hong Kong-based strategist with Credit Agricole CIB, said before the release. China's economy expanded 8.1 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace in almost three years, the statistics bureau said last week.

A measure of developers in the Shanghai Composite fell 1.8 percent on Tuesday, the most among the five industry groups. Vanke, the nation's biggest listed property developer, slid 2.3 percent to 8.37 yuan ($1.33). Poly Real Estate, the second largest, lost 2.9 percent to 11.64 yuan. Gemdale Corp, the fourth biggest, fell 3.7 percent to 6.08 yuan.

Shanghai won't soften controls or change existing policies on the property market, Xinhua reported on Monday, citing Mayor Han Zheng. China has toughened requirements for down payments and mortgages, and imposed restrictions on the number of homes each family is allowed to buy. The nation's first-quarter home sales fell 18 percent even as the government reiterated it will maintain curbs on the property market.

China will curb economic growth to address over-investment and bad loans that built up after policy makers used stimulus to combat the 2008 crisis, according to Pacific Investment Management Co, which runs the world's biggest mutual fund.

"Aside from some cuts in the reserve requirement ratio, we do not expect to see aggressively expansionary policy to combat the incremental economic slowdown that is unfolding right now in China," Ramin Toloui, the Singapore-based co-head of the global emerging markets portfolio management team, wrote in a report on the company's website. China's economic growth will slow to about 7.5 to 8 percent this year, the fund manager said.

Jiangxi Copper, China's biggest producer of the metal, dropped 1.5 percent to 24.45 yuan. Chalco, the listed unit of nation's biggest maker of the lightweight metal, sank 1 percent to 6.76 yuan.

Seven hundred and ten companies in the Shanghai Composite have released annual earnings. They posted profit growth of 14 percent on average, trailing analyst estimates by 2 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compared with an increase of 38 percent in the previous year.

Tonghua Golden-Horse dropped 3.4 percent to 4.81 yuan. The State Food and Drug Administration has suspended sales of 13 drugs after media reported the capsules used to hold them contained excessive levels of chromium, according to a statement on its website. Tonghua Golden-Horse is among nine drugmakers whose products have been suspended for inspection, it said.