China shares fall on tech weakness; China Mobile edges higher in Shanghai debut

SHANGHAI: Chinese shares fell on Wednesday, as weakness in technology stocks continued to drop, with the country’s market regulator levying new fines against several leading high-tech names.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 1.02% at 3,595.18.

The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 1.01%, with info tech firms down 2.83%, the semiconductor sector down 4.33% and industrial firms down 2.71%.

Investors had a fresh reminder of regulatory pressures for tech firms in China as the country’s top market regulator on Wednesday announced fines against Alibaba, Tencent Holdings Ltd, and Bilibili Inc for failing to properly report about a dozen deals.

The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 1.75% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 2.728%.

Real estate shares continued the previous day’s rebound, with a sub-index tracking the sector up 2.31%.

Worries over developer China Evergrande Group’s near-term debt obligations saw some relief as the company announced a bondholder meeting to discuss delaying repayment.

China Mobile Ltd shares pared strong early gains in their Shanghai trading debut to finish up just 0.52% on the day.

Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.88%, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 0.1%.

At 07:00 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.371 per U.S. dollar, barely firmer than Tuesday’s close of 6.372.

The largest gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Wuhan Keqian Biology Co Ltd, up 15.34%, followed by Sundy Land Investment Co Ltd, gaining 10.07% and Sichuan Expressway Co Ltd, up 10.06%. The biggest decliners in the Shanghai index were Beijing Balance Medical Technology Co Ltd down 10.61%, followed by Jiangsu Highhope International Group Corp losing 10.05% and Aerosun Corp down by 10.03%.