Stocks suffer weekly dip following disappointing data

Stock markets in the Chinese mainland fell on Friday, marking a second weekly fall this month.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell by 14.77 points or 0.73 percent to 2,004.34 points. The index saw a weekly fall of 2.6 percent from the previous Friday, March 7.

The Shenzhen Component Index also ended lower, declining by 80.22 points or 1.10 percent to 7,239.06 points on Friday. It ended the week 1.22 percent lower than the previous Friday.

Combined turnover on the two bourses on Friday was a tepid 161.18 billion yuan ($26.20 billion), down from Thursday's 173.61 billion yuan.

The stock markets suffered from a series of sluggish economic data released since the beginning of the last week.

Following surprising news earlier last week of a fall in exports, which resulted in a trade deficit for February, Thursday saw China's industrial output, urban investment and retail sales in the first two months of the year falling to multi-year lows, increasing investors' fears about the country's economic health.

Media reports that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is ready to launch a pilot program for preferred shares buoyed markets on Thursday. The banking sector was the biggest winner as media reports also speculated that the first shares to be trialed would be shares in Chinese banks.

However, shares in lenders fell back on Friday after the People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced that it had blocked plans by Tencent Holdings to issue virtual credit cards.

Shares in China CITIC Bank Corp, which had unveiled a plan to launch virtual credit cards in partnership with Tencent, were hit hard by the news, tumbling by 8.07 percent on Friday.

Shares in Ping An Bank Co and Bank of Beijing Co also fell more than 2 percent.

ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups listed in Shenzhen, also fell on Friday by 0.20 percent to 1,434.02, marking a weekly loss of 1.82 percent.