(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-12 16:00

Chinese shares dropped 1.91 percent on Friday as investors confidence continue to wane on upcoming re-opening of initial public offerings (IPOs) on Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 53.56 points to close at 2,743.76. Shenzhen Component Index weakened 1.64 percent, or 175.78 points to close at 10,524.13.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 673 to 138 in Shanghai and 585 to 108 in Shenzhen.

Total turnover shrank to 191.24 billion yuan ($28.12 billion) from 201 billion yuan on Thursday.

Wang Lin, an official with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said Thursday that the end of a de facto suspension of IPOs would occur before any listings on the pending growth enterprise market, a Nasdaq-like stock market in China.

Late Wednesday, the CSRC unveiled final guidelines for new IPOs that took effect Thursday. No IPOs have yet been announced, but many companies sought approval for issues during the suspension, and their applications will now be dealt with.

Steel stocks led the downturn, dropping 2.75 percent, with Tangshan Iron and Steel falling 5.39 percent to 7.2 yuan and Wuhan Iron and Steel sinking 5.21 percent to 7.64 yuan.

The sector's decline reflected weak steel export data and worry about ongoing iron ore price negotiations, dealers said. According to customs data released Thursday, China's steel exports fell almost 64 percent in the first five months, to 7.9 million tons.

Medical stocks bucked the trend, as the A/H1N1 flu continued to spread around the world and the UN Thursday raised its alert to the highest level.

Guilin Layn Natural Ingredients rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 23.93 yuan and Hualan Biological Engineering gained 7.64 percent to 31.85 yuan.