Mainland stocks fall amid a sell-off in techs

Chinese mainland stocks tumbled on Thursday as investors were spooked by a US probe of Huawei, triggering a sell-off in tech firms.

The blue-chip CSI300 index closed down 1.91 percent at 3,755.49 points, its worst day in a month, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.38 percent to 3,075.03 points.

US prosecutors in New York have been investigating whether Chinese technology company Huawei violated US sanctions in relation to Iran, according to sources familiar with the situation.

An index tracking IT and telecoms firms closed down 2.8 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

The slump in leading home appliances maker Gree Electric also weighed on the market, after the firm announced no annual cash dividend payment for the first time since 2007. Gree Electric tumbled 8.97 percent. The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite Index were Founder Technology Group Co, which gained 10.03 percent, followed by Shanghai Wondertek Software Co gaining 10.02 percent and Beijing Tricolor Technology Co up by 10.01 percent.

The largest percentage losers in the Shanghai index were Henan Huanghe Whirlwind Co down 10.05 percent, followed by Pengqi Technology Development Co losing 10.04 percent and Qianhe Condiment and Food Co down by 10.01 percent.