Chinese mainland markets tumble amid capital outflow

China stocks slipped on Monday after days of rally.

At the close of market hours, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.24 percent to 3,395.68 points. The smaller Shenzhen Component Index dipped 0.67 percent.

The blue-chip index CSI300 fell 0.58 percent. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy ChiNext Composite Index declined 1.07 percent.

The STAR 50 Index, which tracks the 50 biggest and most representative companies listed on the STAR Market for more than six months, advanced 0.68 percent.

Turnover on the two major bourses reached 1.03 trillion yuan (US$150 billion). 

On the Shanghai bourse, losers outnumbered gainers by 908 to 774, and 1,264 to 937 in Shenzhen.

Bucking the trend, the consumer staples sector climbed 1.77 percent. V V Food & Beverage Co Ltd and YouYou Foods Co Ltd all hit the daily limit of 10 percent.

Insurance companies suffered the biggest losses of the day.

Foreign investors sold a net 8.03 billion yuan worth of China shares on Monday via the Stock Connect linking the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, which allows foreign investors access the country’s onshore equities market.