Index down 4% as PetroChina tumbles below IPO price

Index down 4% as PetroChina tumbles below IPO price

Last Updated(Beijing Time):2008-04-18 16:37

Chinese shares continued dropping on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index diving nearly 4 percent to almost half of its highest level. The index, which covers both A and B shares, slumped 3.97 percent, or 128.07 points, to 3,094.67. PetroChina, the most heavily weighted stock in Shanghai index, tumbled 5.04 percent to 16.02 yuan per share, lower than its IPO price of 16.7 yuan. It was 49.5 percent off from a record 6,124.04 set in October and the lowest in more than a year. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 3.13 percent, or 365.04 points lower at 11,292.04. Losers outnumbered gainers by 722 to 50 in Shanghai and 561 to 37 in Shenzhen. Aggregate turnover narrowed to 78.5 billion yuan (about $11.2 billion) from 90.2 billion yuan on Thursday. Analysts said investors were still panic after Wednesday's reports of slower economic growth and higher inflation in the first quarter. Most of the market heavyweights reported heavy losses, leading the slump.

PPI up 8% in March on rising energy, metal prices

Last Updated(Beijing Time):2008-04-18 16:34

China's producer price index (PPI) for industrial products rose eight percent in March year-on-year, while the factory-gate prices of raw materials, fuel and power were up 11 percent. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday, the rise in the PPI, which measures the value of finished products when they leave the factory, was only 2.4 percent as recently as August, indicating intensifying price pressure. Factory-gate prices of crude oil surged 37.9 percent year-on-year, while those of gasoline, diesel and kerosene were up 9.9 percent, 10.9 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively. The producer prices of raw coal jumped 27.4 percent and those of steel products rose between 22.2 percent and 35.5 percent. The purchasing prices, or costs of raw materials, fuel and power, rose 19 percent, 18 percent and 9 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. The PPI for manufactured goods was up 6.9 percent in the first quarter, while the costs of raw materials, fuel and power rose by 9.8 percent year-on-year. The price index of food, a major component of the consumer price index (CPI), ballooned by 12.3 percent, compared with the growth rates of 2 percent for garments and 3.8 percent for daily commodities. The prices of consumer durables were up 0.6 percent, said the NBS. Li Xiaochao, spokesperson of the NBS, said higher ex-factory prices could lead to a rising CPI, as producers might seek to pass on their own rising costs to consumers. He said the bureau would closely monitor the impact of rising production costs on inflation in coming months. China's CPI, a key measure of inflation, was up 8.3 percent in March, following an 8.7 percent rise in the previous month, according to the NBS. Food prices, which account for one-third of the CPI basket, soared 21 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. China has set an annual CPI target of 4.8 percent this year.

Shanghai index tumbles 2.09% at midday Last Updated(Beijing Time):2008-04-18 14:21 Shanghai's key stock market dropped in the morning session today as energy stocks continued to fall while PetroChina declined below its initial offering price. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, dropped 2.09 percent, or 67.51 points, to 3,155.23 at 11:30am. Losers in the Shanghai market outnumbered gainers 725 to 114, while 14 were unchanged. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the mainland's smaller stock market, was down 1.74 percent, or 16.93 points, to 954.73. Energy shares fell for a second day after Shanghai Electric Power Co said it may have posted a first-quarter loss amid rising fuel expenses. Shanghai Electric Power Co, the supplier of a third of the electricity in China's richest city said 2007 profit rose 12 percent to 451 million yuan after capacity expansion. The company expected a first-quarter loss of about 120 million yuan. The stock dropped 3.93 percent to 5.86 yuan (84 US cents). Huaneng Power, the listed unit of China's largest power group, lost 3.46 percent to 6.98 yuan after yesterday's 9.96 percent slump. Huaneng said yesterday that first-quarter profit may fall more than 50 percent because of rising coal prices. Power and fuel producers can't pass on increases in raw material costs because the government controls energy prices to limit their impact on inflation, which was close to the fastest in 11 years in the first quarter. PetroChina, the nation's biggest oil company and the biggest component in the market, dropped 3.38 percent, to 16.30 yuan, falling below its offer price of 16.70 yuan on November 5. The stock has plunged 63 percent since reaching a record closing high of 43.96 yuan since the IPO. China Eastern Airlines Corp was among sliding airlines this morning. Shanghai-based China Eastern, the nation's third-largest carrier, tumbled 4.68 percent to 9.77 yuan while Air China, the nation's largest carrier by market value, was down 4.48 percent to 13.01 yuan. China Southern, the country's biggest by fleet size, also buckled 4.65 percent to 10.86 yuan. China Eastern was fined 1.5 million yuan and had flights suspended by the aviation regulator after pilots intentionally aborted several flights. On the positive side, Tangshan Iron & Steel Co, the listed unit of China's second-biggest steel maker by output, said 2007 profit rose 51 percent to 2.14 billion yuan as a new plant boosted production. It gained 1.06 percent to 15.20 yuan.