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Shares continue to fall amid weak market sentiment

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-05 16:29

Chinese shares continued to fall on Tuesday after the announcement that the central bank was to increase loan quotas for commercial banks failing to boost investors' confidence.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.86 percent, or 50.99 points, to end at 2,690.75 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed at 9,080.22 points, down 3.15 percent, or 295.47 points.

Combined turnover totaled 66.81 billion yuan ($9.74 billion).

The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, has agreed to increase loan quotas of commercial banks by as much as 10 percent to help small- and medium-sized enterprises cope with financing difficulties, Tuesday's Shanghai Securities Journal reported.

The news failed to boost market sentiment, however, and investors were still taking a cautious stance and watching from the sidelines, Guangfa Securities analyst Wan Bing said.

Bank of China shares edged down 0.75 percent to 3.95 yuan, while Bank of Communications fell 1.12 percent to 7.92 yuan. China Merchants Bank was down 2.27 percent to 23.71 yuan.

Real estate stocks lost led by China Vanke, the country's top property developer, after it announced it was cutting new home building in the second half of the year. This indicated a negative forecast for the industry's second half performance, Hongyuan Securities analyst Yang Guohua said.

China Vanke slumped 6.26 percent to 7.94 yuan, while Poly Real Estate Co shares lost 7.11 percent to 14.51 yuan.

Coal producer shares fell across the board, responding to an overnight decline in world crude oil prices. Lower crude prices might cut demand for the alternative fuel, analysts said.

China Shenhua, the country's largest coal producer, plummeted 6.37 percent to 28.39 yuan and shares of Yanzhou Coal Mining Co declined 8.31 percent to 16.99 yuan.