China stocks fell on Friday amid concerns over fresh share supplies, after regulators said the market has ample liquidity to handle more initial public offerings. Xiao Gang, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), told a conference on Friday that the watchdog's recent move to accelerate IPO approvals won't have a big impact on the market, because "there are relatively big inflows of cash" into equities.
His remarks were seen by some as signalling possibly new steps to cool a market that has doubled over the past year. The market is already under liquidity pressure as 20 IPOs will be launched next week, potentially locking up about 3 trillion yuan ($483.6 billion) in subscription capital. "Investors seem to be selling some of their holdings to have cash for a new round of IPOs," wrote Gerry Alfonso, director of Shenwan Hongyuan Securities.
The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 1.8 percent, to 4,617.47, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.6 percent, to 4,308.69 points. For the week, CSI300 gained 1.3 percent while the SSEC was up 2.4 percent. Shenzhen's start-up board ChiNext remained firm, despite its stretched valuations.
Most sectors fell, with telecom and energy stocks among the hardest hit as investors took profit after their recent surge. Aluminium Corp surged nearly 10 percent, after the government approved plans to consolidate the rare earth industry under six firms, including Aluminium Corp's parent.
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