Newly listed shares drop most following record penalty

BEIJING - Shares of newly listed companies, which usually on top of the gainers' list, dropped the most on Thursday after Chinese securities authorities issued record penalty for manipulating share prices of such firms.

The sub-index for the newcomers dropped 4.47 percent, according to data from the stock channel of web portal Sina.

The weakness came after the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Wednesday imposed a record penalty of 5.67 billion yuan ($900 million) on a company for manipulating stock prices.

The penalty fell on Beibadao (Xiamen) Logistics Group, which made illegal profits of 945 million yuan by manipulating shares of newly-listed companies, including Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank and Jiangsu Jiangyin Rural Commercial Bank.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.01 percent to close at 3,291.11 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.22 percent higher at 11,163.65.

Combined turnover on the two bourses shrank to 435.2 billion yuan, down from 445.8 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Liquor makers and oil producers were the strongest on Thursday, with the sub-indexes up 2.07 percent and 0.83 percent, respectively.

Kweichow Moutai, a leading liquor brand in China, rose 2.7 percent to 746.47 yuan. Sinopec Shandong Taishan Petroleum Co rose 3.77 percent to 7.43 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.4 percent to close at 1,848.71 points Thursday.