PROFIT-TAKING among heavy-weighted plays today weighed on the Shanghai market this morning, dragging key index off 3,000-point mark while cement makers enjoyed another round of rally.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1 percent to 2,972.10.

Brokerages, insurers and non-ferrous metal producers were the leading forces that pulled the market down this morning as investors jumped out of these sectors for quick profits after previous rallies.

Industrial Securities Co shed 3.35 percent to 17.01 yuan(US$2.59). Ping An Insurance Group Co of China lost 3 percent to 51.82 yuan. Yanzhou Coal Mining Co sank 4.91 percent to 31.94 yuan.

A gauge that tracks the performances of cement makers showed the sector gained nearly 1 percent this morning after Shanghai Securities News said China will invest 4 trillion yuan on irrigation system construction in the next decade.

Xinjiang Qingsong Building Materials and Chemicals Group Co added 6.05 percent to 23.85 yuan. Taiyuan Lionhead Cement Co climbed 2.36 percent to 12.60 yuan.