Finance, high-speed rail gains fail to stop markets from falling

Mainland exchanges fell on Tuesday, as gains for banking, securities and high-speed rail stocks failed to lift overall investor sentiment.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.07 percent or 2.20 points to 3,165.82 points on Tuesday, reversing the rise in the previous trading session, which had driven the index to its highest point since January 2010.

The Shenzhen Component Index continued to slide, falling by 0.54 percent or 58.13 points to close at 10,722.26 points. The CSI 300 Index of the biggest companies traded on the bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen advanced by 0.06 percent or 2.10 points to 3,457.55 points.

The two stock exchanges recorded a total turnover of 669.11 billion yuan ($108.73 billion) on Tuesday, down from the previous trading day's 835.39 billion yuan.

China CITIC Bank's Shanghai-listed shares led the rally in the banking sector, soaring by the daily limit of 10 percent to 8.01 yuan. Three other banks - Shenzhen-listed Ping An Bank and Shanghai-listed Industrial Bank and Hua Xia Bank - jumped by around 4 percent on average during the day.

Shares linked to high-speed railways recorded robust gains, with Taiyuan Heavy Industry Co, Jinxi Axle Co, Gem-Year Industrial Co, and Beijing Comens New Materials Co all rising by the daily 10 percent limit.

Shares linked to cement, construction materials and securities firms also rose in both bourses.

The gains, however, were offset by losses for sports, ports and shipping, and domestic software stocks. Chinese software firms were among the weakest-performing stocks Tuesday, with Sinodata Co tumbling 8.24 percent to 46.69 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups, suffered a fall of 2.62 percent or 39.29 points to 1,460.11 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished down by 1.14 percent or 272.08 points at 23,501.10 points on Tuesday.