China: Shares fall despite support measures

[HONG KONG] China stocks fell on Wednesday, regardles of both a promise by the central bank to stabilise market expectations and a private survey which showed activity in the services sector accelerated last month.

The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 81.2556 points, or 2.06 per cent, to 3,866.8998.

The Shanghai Composite Index which tracks all the tickers trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange lost 60.7814 points, or 1.62 per cent, to 3,695.7635.

Analysts say investors have not paricipated actively in the stock market in the past few weeks as the sharp volatility has dampened their interest despite continuous policy support from the government.

The fall was broad-based in ten major sectors monitored by Reuters, with the technology sector taking the lead by shedding 1.8 per cent.

Among the most active stocks in Shanghai were China Nuclear Power, down 3.53 per cent at 10.66 yuan, and Hainan Airline, down 4.17 per cent at 5.51 yuan.

Among the most trade inn Shenzhen, BOE Technology fell 3.2 per cent to 3.69 yuan, and TCL was down 3.3 per cent at 4.96 yuan.

REUTERS