Chinese shares closed down 0.11 percent on Friday after the benchmark index hit another five-year high during morning trade amid diverging expectations over Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's upcoming listing.
The Shanghai composite index finished at 1,790.364 points, falling from an intra-day peak of 1,801.334 points, its highest level since late September, 2001.
Turnover in Shanghai A-shares was a moderate 23.3 billion yuan ($2.9 billion), versus 22.4 billion on Thursday.
The retail and institutional portions of ICBC's A-share offer, which closed on Thursday, drew massive demand. Sources familiar with the deal told Reuters the domestic IPO would be priced at 3.11 yuan or 3.12 yuan. The stock may not have much room to rise as it was priced at the top of its range, said Zheng Weigang, an analyst at Shanghai Securities.
"ICBC's share prices will probably fall slightly from a high open on its listing day, before stabilising for some time," he said, adding that investors seemed hesitant and cautious during trade on Friday.
Meanwhile, some analysts said demand for the shares was strong and investors still expected a strong debut. However, analysts agreed that ICBC's listing next week will boost sentiment.
Zheng expects the index to rise above 1,850 after the listing, while others predict that the index will rise to around 1,900 points by the end of the year. Stocks in several Shanghai-based property firms continued to suffer after Yu Zhifei, general manager of the city's Formula One Grand Prix circuit, the centre of a major area for real estate development, was implicated in a corruption probe on Wednesday.
Shanghai Jinfeng Investment, a major real estate brokerage and property developer controlled by the city government, fell 3.41 percent to a month low of 7.92 yuan. New Huangpu Real Estate dropped 1.46 percent to 4.72 yuan.
Many small stocks which rose sharply earlier this week lost steam, as investors took profits, leaving them little incentive to rise further. Software firm Qingdao Mesnac, which listed in Shenzhen on Wednesday and led the overall rise in the technology sector this week, dropped 2.42 percent to 54.01 yuan after rising sharply for two straight days. Peer stock Eastern Communications lost 2.6 percent to 3.37 yuan.
The banking sector gained, helped by the yuan's strengthening. China Merchants Bank rose 4.27 percent to a record closing high of 10.50 yuan. Shanghai aluminium futures advanced on Friday, boosting stocks in the sector. Baotou Aluminium Co surged 3.58 percent to 8.10 yuan. Rival Lanzhou Aluminium Co soared 6.54 percent to a five-month high of 10.10 yuan.