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SHANGHAI: Chinese shares were 0.33 percent lower in morning trade Thursday, weighed down by falls in banking stocks after Premier Wen Jiabao urged an end to a lending monopoly by big state-owned banks, dealers said.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, slid 7.40 points to 2,255.38 on the first day of trading after a long holiday.
Banks shares fell after Wen said banks' stranglehold on lending needed to be broken to ease the flow of private capital in the economy, according to comments published by state media on Wednesday.