Auto sector leads Shanghai stocks down

Shanghai stocks fell today, dragged by automobile shares as investors turned cautious after Tesla said the company is about three years away from starting production in China.

The Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.37 percent to close at 3,383.31 points.

Infrastructure companies, consumer shares, telecommunications and automobile shares were among the biggest decliners today. Automobile sector fell 0.95 percent, according to data from financial data provider Wind Information Co.

Shares in the automobile sector dropped today after Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk said that he did not expect any significant capital expenditures for China until 2019 during an earnings call in US last night.

“Tesla is about three years away from starting production in China,” Elon Musk said, according to a Reuters report. Reuters also mentioned that Tesla stock went down nearly 5 percent in after-hours trading on Model 3 delays and bigger-than-expected quarterly loss.

“Market sentiment was dampened and shares related to Tesla fell today,” said Qin Hong, an analyst with Jingbailing Consulting firm. “Tesla related stocks in the A-share market fell because of the retreat of short-term funds.”

Shares related to Tesla fell today after release of the news, with Shanghai Lingang Holdings Co Ltd slumped 9.99 percent to 30.45 yuan (US$4.61), Ningbo Xusheng Auto Technology Co Ltd fell 9.99 percent to 52.25 yuan and Shanghai Baolong Automotive Co declined 8.36 percent to 57.66 yuan.