Chinese shares lose 0.73% in morning session on fresh economic data

Chinese shares ended 0.73 percent lower in the morning session on Monday after the country's top statistician said the economic growth slowed to 9.0 percent in the third quarter.

The lowest growth in more than five years reported by the National Statistics Bureau in the morning was largely in line with market expectations.

NBS Chief Economist Yao Jingyuan also said the country's growth for the first three quarters -- 9.9 percent -- "is a hard-earned achievement" given the ongoing global economic slowdown.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 1,916.55 points, down 14.10 points or 0.73 percent from the previous close.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index, however, gained 0.36 percent to finish at 6,231.64 points, up 22.14 points.

The combined turnover was 16.64 billion yuan and remained low, as investors waited for further government policies to boost the economy.

Weak heavyweights led to the sluggish performance in the morning. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China slid 1 percent to 3.96 yuan , and the Bank of China declined 0.63 percent to 3.16 yuan.

PetroChina, the country's major oil producer, lost 3.38 percent to 11.72 yuan.

The agriculture sector gained more than 2 percent across the board following a weekend announcement saying the government would allow farmers to "lease their contracted farmland or transfer their land-use right" in a bid to boost rural development.

Xinjiang Korla Pear surged 10.02 percent to 5.93 yuan, and the Hebei-based Fortune NG Fung Food soared 8.52 percent.

The real estate sector rebounded after a state council meeting said the country would lower housing transaction taxes to encourage people's enthusiasm in buying apartments.

Hainan Pearl River Holdings surged by the daily 10-percent limit to 3.17 yuan. The Shenzhen-based Gemdale corporation gained 3.05 percent to 6.42 yuan, and China Merchants Property Development went up 1.12 percent to 13.55 yuan.

Shenguang Securities said in a report that the final release of the country's economic data for the third quarter put an end to market anticipation and helped prevent the market from falling further.

Source:Xinhua