China's stock market slipped 0.46 percent on Wednesday, with steel shares weak after Angang Steel's profit warning and financial shares mixed as investors grew wary over economic data due later in the week. The Shanghai Composite Index ended at 1,985.016 points, after slipping into negative territory in the afternoon and breaking a three-day winning streak that had been fuelled by hopes of government aid for struggling industries.
Turnover in Shanghai A shares was 68.0 billion yuan ($10.0 billion), up from 55.5 billion yuan on Tuesday. Losing Shanghai A shares outnumbered gainers by 542 to 364. Analysts said investors were wary as they awaited Chinese economic data for December and the full year, expected to be announced on Thursday, while the index was having difficulty breaking above a resistance level at 2,000 points. "The index is expected to continue consolidating this week," said Qian Xiangjing, analyst at CITIC-Kington Securities.
He did not think market sentiment was strong enough to push the index decisively through the 2,000 mark ahead of next week's Lunar New Year holiday. Angang Steel sank 2.94 percent to 7.91 yuan after saying it expected its 2008 net profit to have fallen 55 percent to about 3.42 billion yuan due to high raw material costs and slumping steel prices.
China Life sagged 1.82 percent to 19.92 yuan after saying its 2008 net profit may fall more than 50 percent due to a significant decrease in investment returns from its equity assets. Northeast Securities was flat at 14.17 yuan after estimating its net profit in 2008 had dropped 64 percent.
CITIC Securities, China's biggest listed brokerage, advanced 1.98 percent to 21.68 yuan after saying its net profit tumbled 41.2 percent in 2008 to 7.28 billion yuan. Analysts said its earnings were better than other brokerages' and slightly stronger than expected. HuaFang Textile raced up its 10 percent daily limit to 3.30 yuan.
The official Shanghai Securities News reported that China's National Development and Reform Commission, the top planning agency, would soon submit a proposal to the State Council, or cabinet, for aid to the country's textile industry, after China announced plans to bolster its steel and auto sectors.
The newspaper also reported that Shanghai was studying plans, including a tax rebate for home buyers, to boost the sluggish property market. China Vanke, the country's largest listed property firm, gained 2.60 percent to 7.10 yuan.
Suning Appliance, China's second-largest electronics retailer, tumbled 9.10 percent to 15.88 yuan in its second-heaviest day of trade since listing. It said 2008 net profit rose an estimated 40 to 50 percent from a year earlier, down from a previous estimate for a rise of 60 to 80 percent. Bluestar New Chemical Material slid 5.28 percent to 8.61 yuan after estimating it made a net loss of 120 million to 170 million yuan, compared with a net profit of 418 million yuan in 2007.