Beijing, Jan 21 (IANS) Chinese stocks continued to dive on Thursday, with Shanghai dipping below the 2,900-mark again.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 3.23 percent to close at 2,880.48 points. Shenzhen dropped 3.77 percent to close the day at 9,975.97 points, Xinhua news agency reported.
The ChiNext Index, the NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, dived 4.18 percent to close at 2,112.40 points.
The ChiNext reclaimed its role as the worst performing index after its excellent debut earlier this week.
Total turnover on the two bourses waned, standing at $81.76 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers by 957 to 44 in Shanghai and 1,470 to 81 in Shenzhen, the report said.
Chinese shares inched into positive territory after a weak session on Thursday morning. Both Shanghai and Shenzhen indexes resumed the downtrend after midday and wobbled during the whole afternoon session.
The losses increased near closing, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index nose-diving more than three percent.
The oil industry suffered, as global oil prices continued to drop. PetroChina Company Ltd. lost 2.68 percent.
Sub-indices related to aviation, electricity and steel were also among the worst performers on Thursday, with losses spread over all sectors.
Stocks edged up in the morning session as China’s central bank continued to ease liquidity strain for the financial system, following its pledge earlier this week to channel more than 600 billion yuan before the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.
According to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), another $60.8 billion will be injected into the financial system through reverse re-purchase operations.