Brokerages, telecom pull down Shanghai stocks

Shanghai stocks fell on Wednesday as investors turned cautious. The decrease was led by declines in brokerages and telecommunication shares.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.19 percent to close at 2,976.28 points.

Investors turned cautious and took a wait-and-see stance ahead of the G20 summit, with expectations high of a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, analysts said.

Shares of brokerages, non-ferrous providers and insurance companies were among the biggest decliners.

Brokerages fell after China’s largest publicly traded broker CITIC Securities said it plans to sell 427 million shares, or 5.58 percent, of CSC Financial in the secondary market over the next six months.

Qin Hong, an analyst with Jingbailing Consulting, said that investors turned cautious after the announcement.

Tianfeng Securities Co Ltd dropped 9.88 percent to 10.40 yuan (US$1.51) and Caitong Securities Co Ltd lost 3.44 percent to 10.95 yuan.