Mainland exchanges dip as investors prepare for IPOs

Mainland exchanges began the week in negative territory on Monday ahead of new listings set to start this week.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined by 1.71 percent or 56.10 points to 3,229.32 points on Monday. The Shenzhen Component Index fell by 0.35 percent or 39.58 points to close at 11,285.18 points.

The CSI 300 Index of the biggest companies traded on the bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed down 0.93 percent at 3,513.58 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses was 570.38 billion yuan ($91.94 billion), down from Friday's 702.68 billion yuan.

On Monday, investors sold stocks ahead of new listings this week, with a total of 18 companies set to begin their subscriptions for IPOs.

Shares linked to steel, electricity, coal, oil and real estate dragged on the market with a decline of more than 2 percent on average.

The country's two biggest developers by sales, China Vanke Co and Poly Real Estate, fell by 2.45 percent and 3.00 percent to 13.12 yuan and 10.36 yuan, respectively.

PetroChina Co dropped by 3.73 percent to 11.62 yuan and China Shenhua Energy Co dipped by 3.39 percent to 20.83 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups, rose by 2.12 percent or 32.89 points to 1,586.12 points on Monday.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.45 percent to 24,026.46 points, with total turnover of HK$89.94 billion ($11.59 billion).