Chinese shares fall on property market curbs
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Chinese equities fell Friday as the Chinese government extended efforts to cool the overheating property market, while the new stock index futures got off to a flying start.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange ended at 3,130.3 points，down 34.67 points, or 1.1 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange closed at12,416.86 points, down 96.43 points, or 0.77 percent, from the previous close.
Total turnover shrank to 187.21 billion yuan (27.41 billion U.S.dollars) from 249.13 billion yuan on the previous trading day.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 525 to 309 in Shanghai, while gainers outnumbered losers by 433 to 429 in Shenzhen.
The government has raised the downpayment for second-home buyers to a minimum 50 percent of the value from 40 percent, in a bid to curb property speculation, according to a State Council statement issued Thursday after the market closed.
First-home buyers also must pay a downpayment of at least 30 percent of the property price if the area is above 90 square meters, the statement said.
The tough government stance on loans immediately dampened investor confidence and weighed on developers and financial institutions, as the real estate sector dipped 1.02 percent and financial shares fell 2.08 percent.
China Vanke, the nation's biggest property developer by market value, declined 0.77 percent to 9.04 yuan.
China Construction Bank, China's second largest bank by market value, dropped 1.07 percent to 5.55 yuan, while Bank of China, the third largest, dipped 1.18 percent to 4.2 yuan.
China's long-awaited stock index futures, which aim to provide more options for investors and tame market fluctuations, made a strong debut Friday and attracted capital away from stock trading.
Contracts for May, June, September and December all rose at the close.
The May contract ended at 3,415.6 points, up 0.49 percent from its benchmark 3,399 points, the base price that the China Financial Futures Exchange set for all four contracts.
The stock index futures is based on the Hushen 300, an index of 300 Shanghai and Shenzhen-listed class A-shares, which fell 1.13 percent to close at 3,356.33 points Friday.
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