Wall St woes, oil surge drive China equities lower

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-30 23:16

BEIJING -- Chinese equities edged lower on Monday, extending last week's losses amid sharply contracting volume.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slid 12.33 points or 0.45 percent to 2,736.1. The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 65.43 points or 0.69 percent to 9,370.78.

Combined turnover shrank to 61.55 billion yuan (8.97 billion US dollars) from 97.2 billion yuan on Friday.

Shares were hurt by investor concerns over rising crude oil prices and further Wall Street volatility, dealers said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished last week at its lowest level in nearly two years.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, dipped 0.4 percent to 14.94 yuan, while Asia's top oil refiner, Sinopec, lost 1.17 percent to 10.15 yuan.

Of the top 10 heavyweights, only Ping'an Insurance, the second-largest insurer, managed to edge up 0.45 percent to 49.26 yuan after a 5.1 percent tumble on the previous trading day.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender, lost 1 percent to 4.96 yuan, while China Merchants Bank, the country's sixth-largest lender, tumbled 4.91 percent to 23.42 yuan as its shareholders approved a 17.2 billion yuan equity stake in Hong Kong-based Wing Lung Bank.

Some analysts deemed the price of getting 53.12 percent of Hong Kong's fourth-largest bank too high.

Olympics-related shares provided some support. Beijing Xidan Department Store Co., Ltd. jumped 10.04 percent to 13.92 yuan, while Beijing Capital Tourism Co., Ltd. rose 9.99 percent to 22.58 yuan.

Gaining shares outnumbered losers by 470 to 340 in Shanghai 385 and to 279 in Shenzhen.