Stock retreat led by tourism and semiconductor firms

Shanghai stocks retreated on Monday as investors turned cautious, led by declines of tourism and semiconductor firms.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.02 percent to close at 2,890.03 points. 

Market sentiment remained weak and investors chose to lock in profits from earlier gains.

The smaller Shenzhen index was down 0.53 percent to 11,192.27 points while the blue chip CSI300 Index closed 1.02 percent lower at 3,954.99 points. The startup board ChiNext Composite Index added 0.58 percent to 2,219.55 points.

Turnover on the two major bourses added up to 759.6 billion yuan (US$107.1 billion), an increase of 60.4 billion yuan compared with 699.2 billion yuan the previous trading day. Turnover on the Shanghai Stock Exchange was 293.4 billion yuan, an increase of 19.1 billion yuan from the previous trading day’s 274.3 billion yuan.

On the two major bourses, the stocks of 79 listed companies surged by over 9 percent, while 12 declined by more than 9 percent.

In the A-share market, new materials, audio-visual equipment and automobile companies were also among the biggest decliners.

Among the 110 firms on the STAR Market, 39 companies closed higher, while the rest retreated. Aofu Environmental Technology Co Ltd dropped 9.67 percent to become the biggest decliner.

Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Co Ltd fell 7.82 percent to 27.22 yuan and China Grand Automotive Services Group Co Ltd retreated 6.98 percent to 3.20 yuan.