China Shares Slip, Financials Weak As New Wave Of Ipos Set To Begin

China shares ended lower on Wednesday, with losses led by financial counters as a wave of new initial public offerings continued to divert money from existing stocks.

The Shanghai Composite Index was off 0.4 percent at 2,025.50 points. The CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings slumped 0.5 percent.

The mainland's first new listings after a four-month hiatus have attracted huge demand. The first six companies that have finished subscriptions locked up a combined 563.9 billion yuan ($90.82 billion), the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on its official microblog late on Tuesday.

Three IPOs will have their trading debut in Shenzhen on Thursday.

 

In Shanghai, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's biggest lender, shed 1.2 percent to a three-month low. Ping An Insurance Group Co of China and China Life Insurance lost 0.8 and 0.7 percent, respectively.

(Reuters)