Mainland stock markets decline for second consecutive week

Stock markets in the Chinese mainland showed mixed performance last Friday ending the week with a loss for a second consecutive week.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell by 6.72 points or 0.31 percent to close at 2,196.07 points on Friday, ending the week 1.83 percent lower than the previous Friday. The Shenzhen Component Index rose by 29.17 points or 0.35 percent to 8,429.82 points on Friday, but the index was down 1.14 percent from a week ago.

Combined turnover on the two bourses on Friday was 165.0 billion yuan ($27.17 billion), down from Thursday's 169.1 billion yuan.

Both indexes saw a weekly loss for a second consecutive week, and turnover remained under the daily 200 billion yuan mark throughout the week as investors waited for results from the Central Economic Work Conference, which was held from Tuesday to Friday.

Financial sectors performed weakly on Wednesday and Thursday but brokerages and insurers moved upward on Friday. Stocks in banks continued sliding on Friday, however. China Merchants Bank Co slid by 2.01 percent to 10.70 yuan on Friday while Bank of China Ltd fell by 1.08 percent to 2.76 yuan.

Media and entertainment stocks also dragged down the market on Friday. Time Publishing and Media Co fell by 4.56 percent to 16.75 yuan. Companies linked to Zhoushan and Ningbo gained strongly as the government announced the establishment of a new municipal authority to support an area covering Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang Province and the nearby Zhoushan Islands. Ningbo Marine Co, Zhejiang Golden Eagle Co and Zhongchang Marine Co all jumped by the 10 percent daily limit on Friday.

ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups listed in Shenzhen, declined by 1.18 points or 0.09 percent to 1,278.14 points but the index was up 5.91 percent during the week. The index had risen by 2.80 percent Thursday after the China Securities Journal reported that China is mulling plans to liberalize refinancing rules for ChiNext-listed companies.