Chinese shares started lower on Tuesday after a major slump in the previous trading day, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opening at 3,564.43 points, down 105.97 points, or 2.89 percent lower.

The index, which tracks both yuan-denominated A-shares and foreign currency-denominated B-shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, closed at 3,670.4 points on Monday, down 8.26 percent from last Friday.

The index had a cumulative fall of over 15 percent since the bourse struck a high point of 4,335.18 points on May 29.

The continuous bearishness followed the government policy of tripling stamp tax on stock trading from 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent last week.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2007)