Chinese shares sink 3.4% ahead of Feb. economic data

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BEIJING, March 9 (Chinese media) -- Chinese equities fell

3.39 percent Monday on concern about what would be shown by a range of February

economic data due for release starting Tuesday, analysts said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 3.39

percent, or74.26 points, to 2,118.75. The Shenzhen Component Index was down 3.67

percent, or 303.09 points, to 7,946.8.

A man reacts in front of an electronic

board showing stock information at a brokerage house in east China's

Shanghai Municipality on March 9, 2009. China's benchmark Shanghai

Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed at 2,118.75 points

Monday, down 74.26 points, or 3.39 percent, from the previous close, while

the Shenzhen Component Index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange closed at

7,946.80 points, down 3.67 percent from the previous close. (Chinese media/Zhou

Hengyi)
Photo

Gallery

The Shanghai index gained 16.4 percent this year on

the belief that the government's economic stimulus plans would blunt the impact

of the global downturn.

The combined turnover was 158.1 billion yuan (23.1

billion U.S. dollars), slightly down from 159.88 billion yuan on Friday.

Losses led gains by 777 to 99 in Shanghai and 651 to

99 in Shenzhen.

Investors were jittery ahead of the release of the

February economic data, a Guotai Jun'an Securities analyst said, and they were

also disappointed that no new economic stimulus measures were announced during

the two national sessions.

Among the indicators scheduled for release this week

are the producer and consumer price indices (Tuesday), fixed-asset investment

(Wednesday) and retail sales (Thursday).

All sectors fell Monday, led by cement and

non-ferrous metals, which dropped 6.43 percent and 6.27 percent, respectively.

Banking shares declined. Bank of China tumbled 5.03

percent to 3.4 yuan. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 2.63

percent to 3.7 yuan. China Merchants Bank slid 4.94 percent to 15 yuan.

The Poly Real Estate Group edged up 0.39 percent to

20.47 yuan after saying February property sales nearly tripled in area compared

with a year earlier. However, domestic rival Vanke, the largest real estate

developer by market capitalization, dropped 2.35 percent to 7.89 yuan.