Liquidity concerns send shares lower

Shanghai stocks drifted lower yesterday as money costs climbed after the central bank suspended liquidity injections.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.48 percent to 2,129.40 points.

The People.s Bank of China yesterday halted its open market operation after pumping 8 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) into the money market through seven-day reverse repurchase agreements on Tuesday. The suspension will lead to a net withdrawal of 5 billion yuan from the money market this week.

The seven-day repurchase rate, a gauge of funding availability in the banking system, increased 2.5 basis points to 3.89 percent in Shanghai yesterday. The overnight rate added 7 basis points to 3.73 percent, data from the National Interbank Funding Center showed.

Wang Yi, analyst with Great Wall Securities, said the central bank is expected to maintain a slightly tight monetary policy.

Brokerages fell after data showed the gross profit of 16 listed securities companies plummeted 63 percent month-on-month to 970 million yuan in October. Haitong Securities lost 2.9 percent to 10.97 yuan after reporting a 64.5 percent slump in net profit in October while Soochow Securities Co dropped 0.8 percent to 7.38 yuan.

Food and beverage shares fell the most. Bright Dairy & Food Co plunged 7.2 percent to close at 20.26 yuan.