China stocks end flat,but trading dull

Investors have been chary about investing and that showed in the fall in volumes.

China’s key stock index closed down 0.3 percent on Wednesday while turnover shrank to a two-month low,with property shares easing after a rally the day before as worries about tightening measures weighed on sentiment.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended the day at 2,587.8 points,giving up modest gains in the afternoon and following a rise of 1.4 percent on Tuesday.

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After yesterday’s large bounce,there is not much momentum for a further rebound in property stocks. The market will continue to be weighed down by concern over when future tightening policies will emerge,until those measures are clarified,said Zhang Gang,analyst at Central Securities.

Zhang said the index could fall to 2,500 points,a psychological figure for the market that some investors consider lucky.

ICBC,the second-most actively traded Shanghai A share,ended unchanged after announcing it would raise capital via a convertible bond rather than a rights issue. Its shares had been suspended on Tuesday when the market rose.

Losing Shanghai stocks outnumbered winners 540 to 330,while turnover sank to a two-month low of 76 billion yuan ($11.13 billion) from Tuesday’s 84 billion yuan. ($1=6.827 Yuan)