Stocks edge down, but turnover remains strong

China stocks retreated on Tuesday, but turnover continued to expand above the 1 trillion yuan (US$149 billion) mark.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.67 percent to close at 2,941.52 points. The smaller Shenzhen Component Index also edged down 0.5 percent to 9,089.04 points and the blue chip CSI300 index ended 1.2 percent lower at 3,684.69 points.

Total turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses was nearly 1.1 trillion yuan, up from the 1.04 trillion yuan on Monday.

Short-term volatility may increase after the recent sharp rise, but there can be further increases as long as incremental funds keep flowing into the market, China International Capital Corporation said in a research note.

Financial shares which soared on Monday were among the biggest decliners on Tuesday. The banking sector dropped 2.26 percent and insurance stocks lost 3.61 percent. Ping An Insurance Group shed 4.1 percent and Xishui Strong Year Co tumbled 5.43 percent.

Technology stocks including those related to 4G, 5G, organic light emitting diodes and Internet Protocol Version 6 also retreated from their earlier rally. Eastern Communications Co fell sharply by 8.99 percent, and Shenzhen Liande Automatic Equipment Co lost the daily maximum of 10 percent.