China stocks tumble

The Shanghai Composite Index down 2.59% to close at 3,533.78 points

Chinese stocks closed lower on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) down 2.59 per cent to close at 3,533.78 points.

The smaller Shenzhen index dipped 2.27 per cent to close at 12,686.34 points, Xinhua reported.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, lost 2.12 per cent to close at 2,735.49 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses stood at 897.3 billion yuan ($138.4 billion), up from the 684.3 billion yuan registered last Friday.

Nearly 50 shares gained by the daily limit of 10 per cent, while 404 shares tumbled by more than five percent.

Banks, securities and insurance companies were among the biggest losers. Citic Securities lost 5.92 per cent to close at 19.56 yuan. China Life Insurance shed 3.69 percent to end at 28.94 yuan.

Analysts from Tianxin Investment partially attributed the fall to reduced capital flow caused by both the upcoming year end and IPOs slated for next week.

Market sentiment, especially for some over-priced ChiNext board and small cap stocks, was weighed down by the latest listing system reform, making listings much easier from March 1.