Chinese shares wobbled on Friday, concluding the Year of the Sheep on a downbeat note. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.63 percent to 2,763.49 points while the smaller Shenzhen index declined 1.22 percent to close at 9,673.48 points. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, fell 1.39 percent to close at 2,096.99 points. Total turnover on the two bourses stood at 363.44billion yuan (55.65 billion U.S. dollars), about 80 billion yuan less than that of Thursday. Over 1,900 stocks declined, among which 4 stocks plunged by the daily limit of 10 percent.
Financial heavyweights remained some of the weakest performers, dragging down the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index to lower levels. CITIC Securities, China's largest brokerage, saw a decline of 3.08 percent and closed at 14.18 yuan. Textiles, furniture and cement also lost heavily on Friday. The airline sub-index surged, supported by the busy festive season. China Southern Airlines advanced 2.62 percent to close at 6.66 yuan.
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