Markets dip on lack of direction

Stock markets on the Chinese mainland ended on a down note Thursday as trading volumes tumbled to a new year-to-date low.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.30 percent, or 6.57 points, to close at 2,219.55; while the Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.46 percent, or 41.59 points, to finish at 8,920.71.

Both the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets opened higher, taking their cues from strong overnight performances at US markets.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both hit record highs again during post-Asian trading.

Nevertheless, with little to spark upward momentum here at home, mainland markets drifted lower throughout the trading day before ending in negative territory.

The heavyweight banking, securities, property, coal and nonferrous sectors all performed relatively poorly despite stronger-than-expected lending data from the central bank Thursday.

Chinese banks extended 1.06 trillion yuan ($171.08 billion) of new yuan-denominated loans in March, a significant increase compared with the 620 billion yuan offered in February.

Meanwhile, the broad money supply was up 15.7 percent year-on-year at the end of March, beating earlier market expectations.

With little to steer trading Thursday, combined turnover at the two exchanges sank to 120.43 billion yuan, the lowest daily volume in four months and down 13.05 percent compared with Wednesday.

On the up side, auto shares notched some of the day's biggest jumps. FAW Car Co surged to the 10-percent daily limit to close at 7.99 yuan; while Tianjin FAW Xiali Automobile Co jumped 7.94 percent to 4.35 yuan.

Meanwhile, coal producers were dragged down by high inventories. Shanxi Coking Co dropped 3.72 percent to 8.28 yuan; while Shanxi Meijin Energy Co decreased 3.57 percent to 8.92 yuan.