Chinese stocks fall most in two weeks

An investor looks at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Nantong, Jiangsu province, Jan 8, 2013. [Asianewsphoto/Xu Congjun]

Chinese stocks slid the most in two weeks on Thursday amid concern that recent gains were excessive and would backfire.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,293.46, down 80.5 points or 2.39 percent, marking the biggest loss since Dec 23, while Shenzhen Component Index slumped 1.28 percent to 11,465.14.

Financial companies slid the most on Thursday, with CITIC Bank, Bank of China, Industrial Bank and Agricultural Bank edging down more than 4 percent. According to Bloomberg, HSBC downgraded the industry and forecasts the Shanghai index will end the year at 3,100.

Huatai Securities fell 6.25 percent on Thursday, as its latest shareholder Inner Mongolia Junzheng Energy & Chemical Industry Co is in the middle of a legal dispute against Alibaba Ant Small & Micro Financial Services, who just decided to sever cooperation with any company in relation to Junzheng, reported China Business News.

Twenty-two companies, including Spring Airlines and Wanda Cinema Line, will market their initial public offerings next week, which are expected to freeze about 1.4 trillion yuan ($225.3 billion).

The Shanghai gauge rallied 64 percent over the past year through Wednesday as the world’s best performer amid market expectation that the government will further cut interest rate to support growth.

The CSI 300 Index tumbled 2.32 percent and closed at 3,559.26 on Thursday.