Chinese stocks fall for second day
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Chinese stocks edged down for a second day on Tuesday, weighed down by heavyweights, on concerns that the government is likely to introduce more measures to contain inflation.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,021.37, down 1.38 points, or 0.05 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index shed 22.83 points, or 0.18 percent, to 12,902.22.
Combined turnover fell to 275.6 billion yuan (42.01 billion U.S. dollars) from 308.19 billion yuan the previous day.
Gainers outnumbered losers 475 to 407 in Shanghai while losers outnumbered gainers 668 to 516 in Shenzhen.
Shares of some heavyweights in the property, banking and energy sectors slid Tuesday.
PetroChina Co., Asia's leading oil producer, fell 1.07 percent to 12.05 yuan per share. Poly Real Estate Group, China's second largest developer, retreated 1.63 percent to 13.84 yuan. China Construction Bank, the nation's second biggest lender by market value, decreased 0.195 percent to 5.12 yuan.
Nanfang Fund Management Co. said in a report Tuesday that measures designed to curb inflation would continue to be implemented in the short-term in China as consumer prices are likely to exceed 5 percent in March.
China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 4.9 percent year on year in February, exceeding the government's full-year target of 4 percent.
However, Nomura Holdings Inc. expects China's stocks to trend upward in the second quarter on the back of strong bank shares. A slowdown in economic growth would be the key risk for the stock markets this quarter, it said in a report.
