Chinese stocks down amid global downturn

Chinese stocks edged down on Friday amid a global market downturn.

Compared with the sharp fall in global markets, the A-share market showed tenacity, with its major indexes only losing about 1 percent.

Global markets have been tumbling this week after oil prices plunged. London recorded its worst day since the 1987 crash and Frankfurt its blackest day since 1989, the year when the Berlin Wall fell, according to AFP.

At close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.23 percent to 2,887.43points, while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index shed 1 percent at 10,831.13 points. The blue chip CSI300 Index fell 1.41 percent to 3,895.31 points.

Turnover on the two major bourses was 966.7 billion yuan (US$137.52 billion), compared with the previous session’s 837.6 billion yuan.

Chinese mainland markets saw a 13-billion-yuan net outflow of overseas capital via Stock Connect schemes linking Shanghai and Shenzhen with Hong Kong.

Despite most sectors losing, the electricity transmission and distribution industry, the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery sector and banking all performed strongly.

The surge in electricity transmission and distribution came after the State Grid released its investment plan, which clarified that extra-high voltage construction will be its focus with investment reaching 112.8 billion yuan, boosting social investment of 223.5 billion.

Extra-high voltage transmission is the most advanced electricity transmission technology.

Eleven companies related to extra-high voltage transmission hit the daily limit of 10 percent.

In the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery industry, two companies hit the daily cap and 11 companies surged by over 4 percent.

This followed approval from the State Council that China’s provincial-level government will enjoy more autonomy over land use.

Except for permanent basic farmland, governments in all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities will be given the right to approve the conversion of agricultural land to construction land.

The pilot provincial-level governments will be given some approval rights for land expropriation which used to belong to the State Council exclusively, including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Guangdong and Chongqing, with a pilot period of one year.