Most Chinese stocks fell on Friday but strength in some large-cap shares helped the main index end well off its lows, as the market largely continued to ignore the US subprime mortgage crisis. A nearly 3 percent tumble of Hong Kong's market prompted some profit-taking in Shanghai.
But Chinese investors still feel insulated from global turmoil by capital controls. Among strong blue chips, Aluminium Corp of China (Chalco) soared 9.89 percent to 35.89 yuan after saying the State Council's Assets Supervision and Administration Commission had approved its merger with Baotou Aluminium Co, which jumped 8.67 percent.
The Shanghai Composite Index set an intra-day record high of 4,769.619 points in early trade but then sank to a low of 4,640.766 before ending just 0.10 percent down at 4,749.369. It had hit record closing highs for the previous five days.
However, losing Shanghai stocks heavily outnumbered gainers on Friday by 652 to 199, while turnover in Shanghai A shares fell to 145.7 billion yuan ($19.2 billion) from Thursday's moderate 157.4 billion. Financials were mixed with Bank of China down 0.17 percent to 5.81 yuan. But Merchants Bank rose 0.66 percent to 36.34 yuan after it posted a 120 percent jump in first-half earnings.
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