Special coverage: Markets Watch   Related readings:  Stocks dive 3.29%, largest single day plunge since June 4, 06/22  Stocks up with lowest turnover this week, 06/21  Stocks up amid fluctuations in morning session

The absence of further tightening measures over the weekend did not save the market from seeing the largest single-day slump since June 4, and the third deepest dive since May 29. The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,941.08, down 150.36 points from Friday's closing.

The benchmark index climbed to 4,131.13 as the daily highest soon after a higher opening from 4,102.79, then it dived more than 100 points in minutes. After hitting through the 4,000-point mark, it turned up and reached the second highest point, before reversing the trend again by the noon break. In the afternoon, it slid all the way to the lowest 3,912.42 near the end. Finally, a weak turning-back stopped it from losing the 3,900-point ground.

Shanghai Composite Index
Source: www.sina.com.cn

Of the A shares listed in Shanghai, merely 67 went up today but 720 dropped and 52 finished unchanged. Zhejiang HSD Industrial surged 10.03 percent to 11.08 yuan on top of the gainer's list. Garment-maker Jiangsu Hongdou Industry plunged 10.06 percent to lead the fall.

Large traders were mostly down, dragging the index to a new deep. China Unicom, with the largest trading volume, was down 0.31 yuan while China Merchants Bank, with the largest transaction value, gained 3.27 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index, tracking the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange, opened lower from 13,678.53, and mapped a similar path with the Shanghai Index. It finished at 13,109.26, down 616.46 points or 4.49 percent.

Shenzhen Component Index
Source: www.sina.com.cn
 

Of its A shares, 45 went up, 492 closed down and 76 unchanged. Hunan Ginde Development was sealed at the maximum daily increase cap of 10 percent as the biggest gainer. Fujian Minnan Zhangzhou Economy Development, however, fell most. The largest traders, China Vanke and Shenzhen Development Bank were both down.

Shares in the agriculture, paper making and real estate industries were comparatively stronger than the others. Jiangxi Gannan Fruit rose 6.05 percent to 33.3 yuan as the leading agricultural stock.

B shares fell. Of the 109 B-shares listed on the exchanges, only five were up and nine flat. Anhui Gujing Distillery again surged 10.07 percent as the top gainer. Closed-end funds also dropped, with both the fund indices plunging more than 3 percent.

Unlike most analysts expected, the stocks didn't reverse a downward trend started last Friday, in absence of further tightening measures over the weekend.

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