Stocks slide but rare earth sector gains momentum
China's main equity indexes fell on Thursday as Shenzhen's ChiNext startup board dropped sharply, but the rare earth sector led the gains.
At the close of market hours, the Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.17 percent to 2,827.80 points, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 1.84 percent to 8,584.94 points and the blue chip CSI300 index lost 0.90 percent to close at 3,564.68 points.
Turnover on the two major bourses totaled 386.6 billion yuan (US$55.87 billion), shrinking from 407.8 billion yuan in the previous trading session. Market volume was still low.
Shenzhen’s startup board ChiNext nosedived 1.6 percent to a 3-month low.
Late on Wednesday, the Shanghai Stock Exchange gave approval to three companies to list on the Science & Technology Innovation board, signaling an imminent launch of the new marketplace.
In the rare earth sector, Chengdu Yinhe Magnet Co Ltd, Jiangxi Jinli Permanent Magnet Technology Co Ltd and Research Institute New Materials Co Ltd climbed by the daily cap.