Chinese shares plunged again on Monday, with the major Shanghai Composite Index falling by 8.26 percent after heavy falls last week.

 

Investors were left rubbing their eyes after a cumulative fall of over 15 percent since the bourses struck a high point of 4335.18 points on May 29.

 

The major Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, closed at 3,670.4 points, down 330.34 points or 8.26 percent, from the previous close last Friday.

 

The slump is the largest decline since February 27 when the index dropped by 8.84 percent.

 

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index saw a 7.76 percent drop on Monday, closing at 11,468.46 points, down 964.23 points.

 

The two bourses reported total turnover of 225.89 billion yuan for the day, down sharply from the previous trading day of 346.58 billion yuan.

 

About 800 stocks, about one third of the total, dropped by the maximum ten percent.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2007)