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BIZCHINA / News |
Index closes 3.47% lower on liquidity concern(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-22 15:54 Chinese shares closed broadly lower amid liquidity concerns surrounding the initial public offering (IPO) of China Railway Construction and reaction to overnight declines on Wall Street. Subscriptions for the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) IPO will open on Monday. The company plans to issue no more than 2.8 billion A shares and 1.8 billion to 2.07 billion shares in Hong Kong. The total raised was expected to reach $4 billion. Analysts said that the IPO would exacerbate tight liquidity and dampen investor sentiment, which was also eroded by losses on Wall Street. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 142.96 points, or 1.15 percent, to 12,284.30 as new, weak economic data heightened fears of a US recession. The Conference Board said on Thursday that the January index of leading economic indicators had fallen 0.1 percent, the fourth decline in a row. And the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index tumbled to -24.0 this month from -20.9 in January. Friday saw the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index close at 4,370.29, down 156.89 points, or 3.47 percent. The Shenzhen Component Index lost 624.73 points, or 3.72 percent, to 16,179.52. The indices were driven down mainly by the selling of heavyweights. China's biggest oil producer, PetroChina, which accounts for around 25 percent of the Shanghai index, plummeted 3.71 percent to 23.13 yuan ($3.25), while Sinopec, the largest oil refiner, dived 5.75 percent to 16.87 yuan. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the biggest commercial bank, fell 2.57 percent to 6.45 yuan, and China Life, the largest life insurer on the Chinese mainland, slumped 5.30 percent to 37.87 yuan. Also losing ground was the aviation sector. Air China lost 7.19 percent to 19.50 yuan, Southern Airlines fell 7.13 percent to 20.70 yuan, Eastern Airlines went down 4.38 percent to 14.86 yuan and Hainan Airlines was down 4.40 percent to 10.20 yuan. Losers outnumbered gainers by 666 to 172 in Shanghai and by 550 to 103 in Shenzhen. Combined turnover increased to 165.03 billion yuan from 153.07 billion yuan on Thursday. |
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