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Stock index dives 121 points

By Ding Qi (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-08-08 17:11

August 8, a lucky date in traditional Chinese mind, turned out not so lucky for the domestic capital market as the benchmark stock index tumbled nearly 4.5 percent, dampening investors' hopes that the stock market may recover with the opening of the Olympics.

Tracking losses of the overnight Wall Street market, the Shanghai Composite Index opened lower at 2,724.43 points and saw light trading throughout the morning session. Led by massive selling of major blue-chips, it began diving in the last trading hour. The index slumped to 2,595 points, its lowest in a month, around 2:30 pm and closed at 2,605.72 points, 121 points or 4.47 percent lower than previous closings.

The smaller Shenzhen market also suffered heavy losses as the Shenzhen Component Index plunged 4.17 percent to 8,658.78 points.

Turnover of the two markets totaled 69.77 billion yuan, which can be largely attributed to panic selling during the last hour.

Of all stocks traded today, more than 90 percent, or 1,471 stocks, closed down. Among them, nearly 200 stocks fell to the day's limit of 10 percent.

The poor performance of heavy-weight stocks was a crucial factor behind today's loss. PetroChina and Sinopec both dove more than 3 percent in the afternoon despite a strong performance during the morning session.

Financials remained weak although earlier reports said the government may ease credit control on banks to support domestic enterprises. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation's largest lender, dropped 3.10 percent to 5.00 yuan. Bank of China, the official banking sponsor of the Olympics, also closed 4.25 percent lower at 3.83 yuan.

Affected by the poor performance in the Chinese mainland market, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index plunged in the afternoon but bounced back to 21,885.21 points by close, down 0.99 percent. The China Enterprise Index fell 1.69 percent.

Although the average price-earning ratio of domestic A-share markets fell to around 20, the more crucial factor lies in investors' confidence, market analysts said. Although the nation's macro-economic condition remains stable and inflation is expected to ease, without substantial regulatory policies as a guide to boost the diving shares, market confidence, together with share prices will wane.