Chinese shares undercut as world crude prices rise

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-27 19:52

BEIJING - Chinese shares edged down on Wednesday, falling for a second consecutive day, as higher world crude prices hit airline and oil company stocks.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.34 percent, or 7.94 points, to 2,342.15. In Shenzhen, the market fell 0.76 percent, or 60.2 points, to close at 7,827.16.

Aggregate turnover reached 47.3 billion yuan (US$6.9 billion), almost unchanged from 47.2 billion yuan on Tuesday.

Nearly half the stocks dropped on the two bourses. In Shanghai, 459 stocks rose while 391 fell; in Shenzhen, 340 issues rose while 368 fell.

Oil and airline shares declined as investors worried higher fuel costs would pare their earnings.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil company, lost 2.32 percent to 13.06 yuan. Air China shed 1.07 percent to 5.57 yuan, while China Eastern Airlines fell 3.47 percent to 4.73 yuan.

Coal shares dropped as prices started to fall after the National Development and Reform Commission urged local regulators to tighten control on coal price increases last month.

Coal price at Qinhuangdao, a major supply center, was down by more than 15 percent to 860 yuan per tonne earlier this month.

China Shenhua, the country's top coal producer, fell 0.77 percent to 26.9 yuan. Yanzhou Coal Mining Company edged down 0.52 percent to 13.34 yuan, while Datong Coal Industry Co. shed 0.52 percent to 15.3 yuan.

Securities company stocks, which were previously oversold, gained across the board. Guoyuan Securities rose by the 10 percent daily limit to 16.07 yuan and Citic Securities soared 5.3 percent to close at 18.88 yuan.