China shares tumble 4.47%

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-08 19:13

BEIJING - Chinese shares fell 4.47 percent on Friday, ending the upward trend of the previous two trading days, tracking overnight Wall Street declines amid an oil price rebound.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 4.47 percent, or 121.86 points to end at 2,605.72 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed at 8,658.78 points, down 376.51 points, or 4.17 percent.

Aggregate turnover on the two bourses rose to 69.77 billion yuan (US$10.17 billion) from 56.8 billion yuan on the previous trading day. Losses outnumbered gains by 858-20 in Shanghai and 720-12 in Shenzhen.

"Investors felt disappointed as the so-called Olympic boost didn't take place as they had expected. This also pulled the market down," said Shanghai-based Everbright Securities analyst Lu Xiao.

Oil large caps dropped as global crude price rose by US$1.44 overnight to stand at US$120.

Sinopec, Asia's leading oil refiner, plummeted 4.88 percent to 11.3 yuan, while PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, lost 2.27 percent to 14.61 yuan.

Higher oil price also hurt airlines shares, with Air China down 10.04 percent to 8.69 yuan, China Southern down 9.99 percent to 6.76 yuan and China Eastern down 9.97 percent to 6.86 yuan.

"The withdrawal of investors for the second day due to oil price rises is another reason why airlines tumbled down," said Nanjing-based Huatai Securities analyst Chen Jinren.

Hospitality stocks suffered heavy losses on profit taking after the sector's bullish trend for several weeks before the Olympics.

Beijing Capital Tourism Co. fell 10 percent to 20.43 yuan, down more than 2 yuan from the previous trading day. China United Travel Co. lost 10.06 percent to 6.44 yuan.