Mainland stocks fall in broad, yet shallow sell- off

Mainland stocks fell on Thursday in a broad but shallow selloff led by shipping, real estate and construction shares.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ticked down 0.57 percent to close at 3,068.33 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index finished the day 0.76 percent lower at 10,679.15 points.

The CSI 300 Index of the biggest companies traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 0.63 percent to 3,308.97 points.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks the country’s NASDAQ-style board for growth enterprises, fell 0.53 percent to 2,180.66 points.

A total of 511.10 billion yuan ($ 76.79 billion) in shares changed hands on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges on Thursday, up from the 449.10 billion yuan on Wednesday.

Almost all sectors diverged on Thursday, with shipping, real estate and construction stocks leading the losers for the day.

About 1,900 stocks on the two bourses fell, though some analysts remained bullish about the markets’ prospects over the longer term.

Stocks across a broad range of sectors suffered declines on Thursday, indicating their panic in the air, though some shortterm funds entering the market help keep the losses in check, said analysts from the Huatai Securities.

The analysts noted that investors don’t need to pull their money out of equities because mainland stocks remain on an upward trajectory. Nonetheless, they still advised investors to manage their exposures in their portfolios.

The stock markets have been volatile over the last few days due to the approval of the long- awaited Shenzhen– Hong Kong Connect program, which spurred some profit taking, said analysts from First Seafront Fund.

Nonetheless, they predicted stocks will continue to rise. The benchmark index has come up nearly 500 points off its low for the year of 2,600 points. The First Seafront Fund analysts believe the index can still go up by another 500 points by the end of the year.