Finance, energy stocks fall back

Stock markets in the Chinese mainland began the week with a slight decline on Monday, weighed down by falls for financial and energy companies.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declined by 3.72 points or 0.18 percent to 2,097.53 points on Monday. The Shenzhen Component Index closed down by 49.55 points or 0.62 percent at 7,999.30 points.

Combined turnover on the two bourses on Monday was 160.1 billion yuan ($26.40 billion), slightly down from Friday's 162.2 billion yuan.

While banks, insurers, developers and energy companies led the decline on Monday, agricultural companies, IT, telecommunications and travel companies outperformed.

Bank stocks, which have seen fluctuations in the past few days, fell again following a rumor that the China Banking Regulatory Commission will soon unveil new draft rules for interbank financial tools, with implementation set to start on February 1.

Bank of China Ltd, one of China's "Big Four" lenders, and Bank of Communications Co were among the biggest losers on Monday, falling by 2.31 percent to 3.80 yuan and 1.88 percent to 2.61 yuan, respectively.

Stocks linked to wearable computers and electronics saw strong gains on Monday. Shanghai-listed Nanjing Panda Electronics Co jumped by the daily limit of 10 percent to 8.66 yuan. Shenzhen-listed Shandong Fin CNC Machine Co also soared by 10 percent to 7.93 yuan.

Stocks linked with free trade zones in Tianjin and Xiamen climbed on Monday. Over the weekend, the two cities each announced details of progress in their applications to set up free trade zones.

Shares in trading company Xiamen ITG Group Corp and State-owned Tianjin Teda Co soared by the 10 percent daily limit on Monday.

ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups listed in Shenzhen, continued its upward trend on Monday. The index, which gained by more than 3 percent last week, rose on Monday by 13.69 points or 1.06 percent to 1,307.99 points.