Chinese shares fell 1.55 percent on Tuesday as one billion shares of the PetroChina hit the market at the end of the lockup period, soaking up capital.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, closed 72.47 points lower at 4,599.7. It traded between 4,662.97 and 4,550.43.
The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 172.03 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 16,859.64 points.
The one billion shares, or one fourth of the total initial public offering, were issued to strategic investors and could only be traded three months after the stock's trading debut.
PetroChina, which accounts for about 25 percent of the Shanghai Composite Index, tumbled 6.37 percent on the last trading day of the Year of Pig to close at 24.71 yuan (3.44 U.S. dollars).
Along with PetroChina, six other stocks, including the Industrial Bank Co., Ltd., also saw their locked shares flooding the market Tuesday. Their market value totaled 160 billion yuan.
The Industrial Bank rose by 3.54 percent to close at 46.46 yuan, but most other banks registered losses.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender and the second heavyweight stock in Shanghai Stock Market, dropped 1.94 percent to close at 7.09 yuan. Bank of China downed 1.05 percent to 5.65 yuan.
China Coal Energy, the nation's second-largest coal producer, also fell 5.9 percent to 22.98 yuan.
In the Year of Pig, China's capital market had witnessed increasing ability of financing. Statistics from the China Securities Regulatory Commission showed that Chinese firms raised a record high of 772.8 billion yuan from the stock market in 2007.
By the end of last year, 1,550 stocks were traded at the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. The capitalization of the two markets totaled 32.71 trillion yuan, the fourth largest in the world.
Source: Xinhua
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