China stocks fall from two-year highs, developers weigh

Shanghai: China stocks weakened from two-year highs on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai index snapping a seven-session winning streak, led down by property and healthcare firms, as investors pocketed gains after recent strong rally.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 11.16 points or 0.31 per cent at 3,548.30. The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.57 per cent, with its financial sector sub-index lower by 1.35 per cent, the consumer staples sector down 0.65 per cent, the real estate index down 1.77 per cent and healthcare sub-index down 1.28 per cent. The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 0.39 per cent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.13 per cent. Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.15 per cent while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 1.13 per cent. At 7:02 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.3365 per U.S. dollar, 0.35 per cent firmer than the previous close of 6.359.
The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Guizhou Redstar Developing Co Ltd up 10.04 per cent, followed by Fujian Dongbai Group Co Ltd gaining 10.01 per cent and Shandong Lubei Chemical Co Ltd up by 10 per cent. The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Nanjing Textiles Import & Export Corp Ltd down 9.99 per cent, followed by Bright Real Estate Group Co Ltd losing 5.5 per cent and Changchun Sinoenergy Corp down by 5.43 per cent.
So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 7.63 per cent, the CSI300 is up 8.3 per cent this year, while China's H-share index listed in Hong Kong is up 16.3 per cent. Shanghai stocks have risen 7.63 per cent this month.
About 24.34 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 133.4 per cent of the market's 30-day moving average of 18.25 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 25.30 billion.
As of 7:03 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 29.46 per cent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. The Shanghai stock index is above its 50-day moving average and above its 200-day moving average. The price-to-earnings ratio of the Shanghai index was 16.18 as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 1.8 per cent. So far this week, the market capitalisation of the Shanghai stock index has risen by 2.14 per cent to 31.29 trillion yuan.