 "China shares hit 7-week low on property jitters")
China shares posted their biggest loss in seven weeks on Monday, led by property-related sectors after mainland news reports stoked fears that banks have begun tightening loans to developers ahead of next week's annual parliamentary meetings.
The Shanghai Composite Index finished down 1.8% at 2,076.7 points, while the CSI300 of the largest Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares shed 2.2%. For both, this was their biggest single day loss since January 6.
The Nasdaq-style ChiNext Composite Index of mainly high-tech start ups listed in Shenzhen outperformed, climbed 1.7% to near a record closing high.
The Shanghai property sub-index plummeted 5.4% in its biggest single-day loss since June 24 as Poly Real Estate plunged 8.5%.
Average new home prices in China's 70 major cities rose 9.6% in January from a year earlier, easing from the previous month's 9.9% rise, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.
The Shanghai Composite Index finished down 1.8% at 2,076.7 points, while the CSI300 of the largest Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares shed 2.2%. For both, this was their biggest single day loss since January 6.
The Nasdaq-style ChiNext Composite Index of mainly high-tech start ups listed in Shenzhen outperformed, climbed 1.7% to near a record closing high.
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The official Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday that Industrial Bank and other banks may have stopped extending loans to property developers and tightened lending to other property-related sectors such as steel, cement and construction.
The Shanghai property sub-index plummeted 5.4% in its biggest single-day loss since June 24 as Poly Real Estate plunged 8.5%.
Average new home prices in China's 70 major cities rose 9.6% in January from a year earlier, easing from the previous month's 9.9% rise, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.