The Shanghai Composite Index retreated 1.38 percent or 33.35 points to close at 2,376.84 points today on transaction value of 94.62 billion yuan.

The Shenzhen Component Index was down 1.75 percent or 179.77 points to close at 10,116.39 points today on transaction value of 86.14 billion yuan.

Both bourses opened lower on news that Citigroup liquidated its stake in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank at a discount of 10.23 percent. A majority of the small companies fell, while steelmakers and power companies outperformed.

Top Headlines:

According to CICC, there are considerable market concerns due to negative economic and earnings data.

CICC predicts a lack of strong momentum for the market to trade at higher levels, and added that there is limited downside due to a expectations of a relaxation of monetary policies.

A person participating in the design of delisting policies for companies listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange said additional criteria such as trading data, trading volume, bid and ask data, will be considered.

ST shares, often a target for back door listings, had total assets of only 80.43 billion yuan through March 19. This is in sharp contrast to their market value of almost 149.19 billion yuan.

There were reports that the tourism sector contributed almost 9.1 percent to total GPD in 2011.

According to Sealand Securities, China has entered the tourism consumption stage as GPD per capita reached $4,200 in 2010.

At present, 28 provinces in China had positioned the tourism sector as strategic core industries, said Shao Qiwei, head of the National Tourism Administration.

Equity Movers:

It was reported that the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration and Commission is drafting a plan to inject capital into SOEs in the power generation and military sectors during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period, sending shares of power companies up after the market opened.

The top advancers included Jilin Power Share (000875, 3.88, +9.915%), Hubei Energy Group (000883, 6.58, +5.280%) and Shenzhen Nanshan Power Company (000037, 4.38, +3.791%).

Almost all the financials traded bearish, with Sealand Securities (000750, 15.70, -3.681%), Soochow Securities (601555, 8.09, -5.491%) and Everbright Securities (60178897, 12.51, -3.547%) down by more than three percent.

Industrial Bank (601166, 13.44, -1.47%), China Minsheng Bank (600016, 6.20, -2.05%) and Hua Xia Bank (600015, 10.84, -1.28%) fell more than one percent.

Except for several developers, the real estate mainly fell, with Poly Real Estate (600048, 10.72, -0.09%) and China Vanke (000002, 8.17, -0.61%) down slightly.

Led by Jiangsu Shagang (002075, 5.26, +10.042%), Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union (600010, 6.85, +9.076%0 and Xinxin Ductile Iron Pipes (000778, 7.79, +2.770%), steel makers outperformed