Stocks retreat as investors lock in profits

Shanghai stocks retreated on Tuesday as investors locked in profits from earlier gains.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.21 percent to 3,339.90 points, led by declines in the pharmaceutical and new material sectors. The smaller Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.85 percent to close at 13,732.52.

Combined turnover on the two bourses came to 853.5 billion yuan (US$130.2 billion), compared with 801.1 billion yuan in the previous session. Turnover on Shanghai's main board was 353.6 billion yuan, an increase of 19.8 billion yuan over the previous day's 333.8 billion yuan.

Cautious investors chose to lock in profits from Monday’s gains. Most sectors, including healthcare and technology, posted good performances on Monday, while they were among the biggest decliners on Tuesday.

A total of 36 listed firms posted gains of more than 9 percent, while 14 declined by over 9 percent.

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co Ltd dropped 7.63 percent to 53.4 yuan and Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology Co Ltd fell 5.37 percent to 33.46 yuan.