Chinese shares plunge in thin trading

Chinese shares tumbled on Tuesday in thin trade, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunging 3.03 percent to fall below the 3,100-point psychological threshold.

The index closed at 3,032.61 points on Tuesday after gaining 0.61 percent on the previous day's trading, as some investors cashed in their profits after weeks of rallies. The Shenzhen Component Index closed at 10,570.79 points, down 0.36 percent.

Total turnover of the two bourses shrank sharply to 638.81 billion yuan (104.38 billion U.S. dollars) from 932.27 billion yuan on the previous trading day, as some investors chose to sit out and wait.

Banks and steelmakers led the losses, with the Bank of China falling 4.37 percent to end the day at 3.72 yuan apiece and Maanshan Iron & Steel Co., falling 8.82 percent to 3.93 yuan.

Insurance and brokerage firms bucked the trend and prevented the benchmark index from more losses. China Life gained 5.01 percent to 26.84 yuan a share, and Huatai Securities rose 3.66 percent to 23.22 yuan.

China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country's top stock market regulator, announced it was investigating market-rigging involving shares of 18 listed companies last Friday.

Some of the small-cap companies under investigation on Tuesday continued to fall by the daily limit of 10 percent, with Shanxi Baiyuan Trousers Chain Management plummeting 10 percent to end the day at 36.27 yuan per share.