Chinese shares lower over upcoming market clean-up

Chinese shares posted losses for a second day on Thursday, led by companies in the pharmaceutical and auto sectors as Chinese authorities promise a nationwide probe into bribery and fraud.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.87 percent, or 18.26 points, to end at 2,081.88. The Shenzhen Component Index lost 1.29 percent, or 107.94 points, to finish at 8,228.87.

Combined turnover on the two bourses shrank to 189.34 billion yuan (30.7 billion U.S. dollars) from 212 billion yuan the previous trading day.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said on Wednesday that it will launch a three-month probe into bribery, fraud and other anticompetitive practices in various sectors starting Thursday.

The probes will target bribery in sectors closely associated with people's livelihoods, including pharmaceuticals, medical services and the education sector.

Meanwhile, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, is also likely to target automobile, telecommunications, banking and petroleum sectors in its upcoming antitrust probes, according to China National Radio.

Following the news, stocks in the biopharmaceutical sector edged down 2.61 percent while the medical equipment sector shed 1.72 percent. Tianjin Zhongxin Pharmaceutical Group Corporation Limited, tumbled 7.19 percent to 13.30 yuan per share.

The auto manufacturing sector also underperformed the broader index with Chongqing Chang'an Automobile Company Limited, down 6.1 percent to 10.00 yuan per share.

Bucking the trend, the electronic information sector recorded modest gains on Thursday, buoyed by guidelines released by the State Council on Wednesday to boost consumption of information products and services.