Stocks dip below 2,900 points

China stocks retreated below the 2,900 points level on Wednesday from an earlier rally, dragged down mainly by the non-ferrous metal sector and the iron and steel firms.

The Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.49 percent to close at 2,891.70 points. The smaller Shenzhen Component Index also fell 0.51 percent to 9,041.22 points, and the blue chip CSI300 index edged down by 0.47 percent to 3,649.38 points.

Turnover on the two major bourses shrank slightly to 469.26 billion yuan (US$68 billion), compared with the 479.47 billion yuan on Tuesday.

Shares related to the rare-earth permanent magnet sector pulled back to lead the losses, reversing strong gains in the previous two sessions. Sinosteel Anhui Tianyuan Technology Co tumbled by 8.3 percent, while Hengdian Group DMEGC Magnetics Co, Chengdu Galaxy Magnets Co and Beijing Zhong Ke San Huan High-Tech Co all lost over 6 percent.

The non-ferrous metal sector was also among the biggest decliners, the Wind Information's sub-index dropping by 1.59 percent in general.

As for iron and steel firms, Sinosteel Anhui Tianyuan Technology Co slumped 8.3 percent, and Sansteel MinGuang Co slipped by 5.39 percent.

Construction, chemicals and automobiles also posted declines.

Shares related to locally-built operating systems, however, performed strongly, as Huawei recently announced that its own operating system is expected to come out as soon as the autumn. Kyland Technology Co, Zhongfu Information Inc and Beijing VRV Software Corporation all surged by the daily limit of 10 percent.