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Chinese shares edge down 0.19% following Wall Street plunge

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-11 16:02

Chinese equities edged down 0.19 percent Wednesday, declining for the first time in four trading days, following an overnight slump on Wall Street as investors were disappointed the new financial stability plan did not offer more details on buying toxic assets.

Related readings:  Asia stocks fall amid skepticism over US bank plan  Chinese stocks climb to four-month high  Chinese shares almost flat on Tuesday  Chinese shares up 1.78% as govt supports buoy confidence

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 4.34 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 2,260.82, but the Shenzhen Component Index was up 0.29 percent, or 23.66 points, to 8,289.21.

Combined turnover was 267.93 billion yuan ($39.23 billion), up from 213.81 billion yuan on the previous day.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced a comprehensive Financial Stability Plan Tuesday morning, unveiling a new bailout package that could top $1.5 trillion to restore the US ailing financial system. However, Geithner gave no details on how the new joint entity would price the toxic assets.

Overnight, the Dow Jones fell 381.99, or 4.62 percent, to 7,888.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 42.72, or 4.91 percent, to 827.17 and the Nasdaq slid 66.83, or 4. 20 percent, to 1524.73.

Nonferrous metal shares lowered on profit-taking, erasing previous gains. Jiangxi Copper Corp lost 2.5 percent to 17.95 yuan. Shares of the Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group was down 4.68 percent to 10.38 yuan. Yunnan Aluminium Co Ltd shed 2.02 percent to 6.78 yuan.

Beverage producer shares, however, rose on talks that the government is going to approve a stimulus plan for the light industries.

According to media reports, the plan included lowering consumption taxes on alcohol, cosmetics and luxury products.

Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd, China's best-known liquor producer, jumped 3.55 percent to 120.09 yuan. Wuliangye Group, another famous liquor producer, surged 8.35 percent to 17.9 yuan.

Cement manufacturer shares also rose because investors bet on the sector's increasing profit this year as the country's infrastructure construction would boost demand, a China Merchants Securities analyst said.

Shares of both Fujian Cement Co Ltd and Hebei Taihang Cement Co Ltd gained by the daily limit of 10 percent to 5.5 yuan and 7.51 yuan, respectively. Jidong Cement Group added 4.49 percent to 5.94 yuan.