SHANGHAI'S key stock index dropped in the morning session today after the strongest earthquake in 58 years struck Sichuan province, killing 10,000 people and damaging power plants and transmission lines.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, lost 2.58 percent, or 93.43 points, to 3,533.55 at 11:30am.
Losers in the Shanghai market outnumbered gainers 553 to 193 while four were unchanged.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks the smaller domestic stock exchange, was down 1.32 percent, or 14.71 points, to 1,097.26.
PetroChina Co, the nation's largest oil producer, declined after the magnitude-7.8 earthquake hit Sichuan, site of 40 percent of the country's gas deposits. China Life Insurance Co, the country's biggest insurer, dropped the most in a week. Anhui Conch Cement Co jumped the most in more than two weeks on speculation demand for reconstruction materials will increase.
PetroChina, the biggest component in the Shanghai market, lost 3.75 percent to 17.19 yuan (US$2.46). China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, which said there hasn't been a "huge impact'' on its operations from the earthquake, dropped 2.73 percent to 11.76 yuan. China Life fell 5.45 percent to 31.39 yuan, the most since May 7.
Anhui Conch Cement rose 4.57 percent to 63.65 yuan. Wuhan Iron & Steel Co, China's fifth-biggest steel maker, advanced 2.65 percent to 17.42 yuan.
The massive earthquake toppled buildings across a wide area of southwest China at 2:28pm yesterday, killing more than 10,000 people.
Sichuan Changhong Electric Co, Chongqing Iron & Steel Co and 64 other listed companies based in Sichuan and Chongqing City were suspended from trading today in Shanghai and Shenzhen pending updates from the companies.
Banks and developers also lost in the morning session today after the central bank ordered lenders to set aside a record 16.5 percent in deposits as reserves yesterday afternoon. The increase will freeze about 208 billion yuan in the banking system.
North Star Property Co, a Beijing-based developer, lost 4.98 percent to 9.16 yuan while Bank of Communications Ltd, the Shanghai-based bank part-owned by HSBC Holdings Plc, skidded 1.99 percent to 9.35 yuan.
Bank of Communications said the number of yuan-denominated shares tradable in China will rise almost seven-fold on May 16 when the lock-up period for 13.2 billion shares expires, according to a statement to Hong Kong's stock exchange yesterday.
Elsewhere, China United Telecommunications Corp, the owner of the nation's second-largest mobile-phone operator, said 1.06 billion yuan-denominated shares will become tradable next week, according to a statement yesterday. The company sank 3.48 percent to 9.42 yuan.
Retail sales climbed at the fastest pace since at least 1999, signaling that domestic consumption may help buffer the world's fourth-biggest economy against an export slowdown.
Sales rose 22 percent to a record 814.2 billion yuan in April after gaining 21.5 percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said this morning.