China shares closed lower on Tuesday, hours ahead of MSCI's decision on including mainland stocks in its global indexes, as some investors took profit in bluechips after soft inflation data suggested the economy was still struggling. The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 0.7 percent, to 5,317.46, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent, to 5,113.53 points.
MSCI will soon announce whether to include so-called China 'A' shares in its Emerging Markets Index, a decision the index publisher says would draw $400 billion to China stocks over time. That prospect helped China's main indexes hit fresh seven-year highs on Monday, but the euphoria evaporated on Tuesday as newly-released data showed consumer inflation eased in May, while producer prices fell for the 38th straight month.
Although the weak data strengthened the view there will be more monetary easing, analysts say investors are eyeing whether regulators will take fresh measures to curb excessive leverage, and valuation in the red-hot market. Late on Monday, major brokerage Guotai Junan Securities Co suspended margin financing involving 21 stocks, local media reported, the latest in a string of margin tightening moves by securities firms.
Most banks retreated after the recent rally, but Bank of China and Bank of Communications remained firm on expectations of reforms to shareholding structure. Bright Dairy & Food Co Ltd surged by the 10 percent daily limit, after saying it planned to raise up to 9 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) to buy Israeli food firm Tnuva from its state-owned parent.
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