Chinese mainland stock exchanges end 2013 on disappointing note

Stock markets in the Chinese mainland finished the year among the worst-performing stock exchanges in the world.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 18.45 points or 0.88 percent to 2,115.98 points on Tuesday, the last trading session of 2013. This represented a fall of 6.75 percent from a year ago.

The Shenzhen Component Index gained by 122.49 points or 1.53 percent to 8,121.79 points on Tuesday, 10.91 percent below the last trading day of 2012.

The performance of the Shanghai and Shenzhen indexes was among the worst globally.

New York's S&P 500 surged by 29.11 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 soared by 56.72 percent during 2013.

Combined turnover on the two mainland bourses on Tuesday was 163.76 billion yuan ($27.04 billion), up from Monday's 160.1 billion yuan.

China has resumed approvals of IPOs, which boosted shares in brokerages Tuesday. Western Securities Co rose by 3.69 percent to 13.20 yuan on Tuesday, while China's largest listed brokerage, Citic Securities Co, climbed 2.92 percent to 12.70 yuan.

Less than one month away from the Spring Festival, which falls on January 31 this year, liquor makers gained strongly on Tuesday. Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery Joint-stock Co and Anhui Gujing Distillery Co soared by the daily limit of 10 percent to 40.82 yuan and 22.42 yuan, respectively.

ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups listed in Shenzhen, nudged down on Tuesday by 3.54 points or 0.27 percent to 1,304.44 points.

The index jumped by 590.58 points or 82.73 percent over the year as investors bet on ChiNext companies' potential for growth and high returns.

ChiNext-listed Shanghai Wangsu Science & Technology Co fell by 1.37 percent on Tuesday to 84.70 but the company was the strongest performer in 2013 with a gain of 399.11 percent.

Of the 10 mainland-listed stocks that saw the biggest gains in 2013, nine are listed on ChiNext.