Profit-taking ends stock market's 3-day rally

The Chinese stock market ended its three-day rally on Thursday as investors started booking their gains.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.58 percent, or 33.25 points, to finish at 2,073.10. The Shenzhen Component Index lost 2.46 percent, or 199.05 points, to finish at 7,897.33.

Total turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses grew to 163.15 billion yuan (26.68 billion U.S. dollars) from 146.52 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Producers of household electric appliances led the losses, with the sub-index for the sector down 3.59 percent. Midea Group Co., Ltd. lost 3.87 percent to end at 48.45 yuan per share. Qingdao Haier Co., Ltd. slid 2.4 percent to 18.7 yuan.

Car makers lost ground too. Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co., Ltd. tumbled 4.67 percent to 8.58 yuan. Wuhan-based Dongfeng Automobile Co., Ltd. fell 2.38 percent to 2.87 yuan.

Instrument makers outperformed the main board, with the sub-index for the sector up 0.65 percent following a 3.64 percent rise on Wednesday. Changsha Kaiyuan Instruments Co., Ltd. grew by the daily limit of 10 percent. Jiangsu Skyray Instrument Co., Ltd. Shenzhen Maxonic Automation Control Co., Ltd. surged 6.67 percent to 12.15 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, a Nasdaq-style board tracking China's growth enterprises, fell 1.46 percent to close at 1,269.54 points on Thursday.