Mixed session for local stocks as sentiment wanes

Chinese stocks were mixed in the last trading day of the week amid notably retreating sentiment among investors.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.04 percent to 3,188.63 points and the smaller Shenzhen Component Index slipped 0.26 percent to 10,132.34 points. The ChiNext edged up 0.27 percent to 1,695.73 points.

Turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses totaled 657.1 billion yuan (USD$97.72 billion) on Friday, a sharp drop from 817.3 billion yuan registered in the previous trading day.

For the week, the Shanghai index lost 1.78 percent.

Livestock- and poultry-raising firms led the day's gainers, with an average increase of 4.27 percent across the sector. They were followed by electricity companies which saw an average gain of 2.35 percent. Companies hitting the 10-percent daily cap included Henan Huaying Agricultural Development Co, Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding Co, Guodian Changyuan Electric Power Co and Ningxia Silver Star Energy Co.

Notably, Shenzhen-listed Visual China Group, the country's largest stock image and video provider, plunged by the 10-percent daily limit to 25.2 yuan in early trading as the company's website was ordered to shut down and address criticisms over content sold on its site. Problems for the company included falsely claiming copyright on an image of a black hole captured by the Event Horizon Telescope, as well as selling imagery of China's national flag and related symbols.

Looking forward, Chinalin Securities predicts that from a technical point of view the three indices could head further southward, at least in the short-term, while medium-term prospects still remain optimistic.