Shanghai shares shed early gains to close lower

Shanghai stocks closed 0.36 percent down at 2,535.10 points yesterday, despite early morning gains, dragged down by shares in brokerages and home appliance companies.

Turnover was 132.7 billion yuan(US$19.5 billion).

Three days of trade talks between China and the United States in Beijing left investors uncertain about the impact of potential follow-up agreements.

China's Commerce Ministry said yesterday the talks — extended from the originally planned two days — covered a wide range of topics and helped establish a foundation for resolving various concerns.

But it did not go into details.

Citic Securities said there are concerns over China's slowing economy in the short term and that investors would should focus more on anti-cyclical shares such as communications, electric equipment and infrastructure.

The producer price index, which measures factory gate prices, fell for the second straight month in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.

Insurers and lenders both dragged down the index — Pacific Securities and Industrial Securities both fell more than two percent. 

Prices of 5G companies Eoptolink Technology Inc and Hengtong Optic Electric Co rose by the daily limit of 10 percent and 6.15 percent, respectively.

China Merchant Securities expects small-cap shares to perform better over the coming months as market sentiment recovers. And high-tech shares will benefit from government stimulus measures to encourage innovation.