Equities extend losses, led by real estate, bank firms

SHANGHAI－China stocks extended losses on Tuesday, led by real estate and banking firms, as investors pocketed gains after a sell-off in Apple shares triggered a downturn on Wall Street.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 34.81 points, or 0.99 percent, at 3,488.19. Gains in Shanghai stocks were led by China Sports Industry Group Co Ltd and losses by Shanghai Hongda Mining Co Ltd. The bluechip CSI300 index was down 1.07 percent, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 1.67 percent, the consumer staples sector was down 0.19 percent, the real estate index was down 3.97 percent and healthcare sub-index was down 0.02 percent. The smaller Shenzhen Index ended down 0.53 percent and the startup board ChiNext Composite Index was weaker by 0.96 percent.

Hang Seng posted its biggest one-day loss in six weeks on Tuesday. At close of trade, the Hang Seng Index was down 359.60 points, or 1.09 percent, at 32,607.29. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.98 percent to 13,389.38.

So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 6.53 percent and the CSI300 is up 5.6 percent, while the mainland's H-share index listed in Hong Kong is up 16.7 percent. The A-shares are at a 27.37 percent premium over H-shares.

China's Hushen 300 index futures closed lower on Tuesday, with the contract for February 2018 down 1.17 percent to finish at 4,267.6 points; for March, the contract lost 1.17 percent to close at 4,276.2 points. For June, it was down 1.1 percent to finish at 4,301 points and for September, it went down 1.32 percent to finish at 4,306.2 points.

At 07:04 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.3355 per US dollar, 0.17 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.346.

Asian shares skidded on Tuesday following Wall Street's biggest loss in more than four months. Japan's benchmark languished as the yen firmed against the US dollar. MSCI's Asia ex-Japan Stock Index was weaker by 1.31 percent while Japan's Nikkei Index closed down 1.43 percent.

                                                                                       Xinhua - Reuters