Shanghai stocks shed 4.5%

SHANGHAI: Massive unloading of blue-chip stocks by institutional investors yesterday brought the lead indicator down 4.49 percent, the largest one-day drop since Jan 28.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 170.39 points to close at 3626.19, with 707 stocks closing lower than the previous trading day. Turnover on the Shanghai bourse totaled 97.6 billion yuan, down 8.04 percent from last Friday.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index also dropped 4.52 percent to 13098.24 points, with turnover amounting to 42 billion yuan, down 10.1 percent from the previous trading day.