China stocks ended lower on Tuesday despite a recent string of policy moves to support falling markets amid concerns over the possible impact of a new technology board, and as investors waited to see the impact of the new policies. At the close, the blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.6 percent at 3,243.15, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2 percent to 2,659.36 points. The financial sector sub-index closed 0.35 percent lower and the consumer staples sector ended down 1.26 percent, but the real estate index closed 1.04 percent firmer and the healthcare sub-index ended 0.3 percent higher.
Electronics firms fell amid concerns that plans to launch a new technology board could lead to a flood of new supply of tech firm listings. An index tracking China's major IT firms dropped 0.77 percent for the day. "We feel that although messages of policy support may lead to a rebound in risk appetitite in the short term and a clear rebound in stocks, whether or not this can continue ultimately depends on whether the effectiveness of the policy is verified by economic data," Gao Ting, UBS head of China strategy, said in a note.
The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 0.36 percent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was barely changed at 1,349.11, compared with Monday's close of 1,348.88.
The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Jiangsu Sunrain Solar Energy Co Ltd, which ended up 10.14 percent, followed by Shanghai DaZhong Public Utilities Group Co Ltd, which closed 10.13 percent higher and Shenzhen Geoway Co Ltd, which closed up 10.13 percent.
The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Jiangsu Hongtu High Technology Co Ltd, which ended down 10.02 percent, followed by ADD Industry Zhejiang Co Ltd , which closed 10.01 percent lower and Argus Shanghai Textile Chemicals Co Ltd, which ended 9.98 percent weaker.
So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 19.6 percent, the CSI300 has fallen 19.5 percent, while China's H-share index listed in Hong Kong is down 9.1 percent. Shanghai stocks have risen 2.17 percent this month.
About 16.37 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 109.5 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of 14.95 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 19.38 billion.