Chinese shares closed down 2.32 percent on Tuesday led by property developers on continued concerns over potential measures to rein in the real estate market, dealers said. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was down 72.45 points at 3,050.52 on turnover of 99.5 billion yuan (14.6 billion dollars).
"There are growing expectations Beijing could take more steps to curb the recent rampant increase in property prices," Wang Junqing, an analyst at Guosen Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires. "That will hurt not only property companies, but also the banking sector and other listed companies," Wang added. China Vanke, the country's largest property developer by market value, slid 3.9 percent to 10.30 yuan, and Poly Real Estate ended down 2.8 percent at 21.52.
Meanwhile, concerns that more funds will be diverted to initial public offering (IPO) subscriptions by year's end also weighed on sentiment, traders said. Gold miners fell after a retreat of gold prices overnight. Shandong Gold-Mining Company was down 4.5 percent to 75.32 yuan and Zhongjin Gold ended down 2.6 percent at 55.52. The Shanghai B-share index was down 3.70 points, or 1.53 percent, to 237.78. The Shenzhen B-share index fell 7.42 points, or 1.25 percent, to 586.95.