ChiNext stocks hit by profit-taking in second session

AFP

SHANGHAI: More than one-third of shares on China's newly launched Nasdaq-style board were limit-down on profit-taking in early trade Monday after a wild debut last week, dealers said.

Ten of the 28 stocks listed on the Shenzhen-based ChiNext fell 10 percent, but analysts said the drop was not surprising.

"The fall is totally in line with expectations as speculation on these stocks was crazy on Friday," Zhang Gang, an analyst with Central China Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Zhang added that such volatility could have a positive effect on future ChiNext stock pricing as investors will see "they aren't worth such high price-to-earnings ratios".

Chengdu Geeya Technology Co Ltd -- which posted the biggest gains in the board's Friday debut by finishing up 209.73 percent from its initial public offering (IPO) price -- were down 10 percent at 31.5 yuan.

Sichuan Jifeng Agricultural Machinery Chain was the only gainer, rising by the daily trading limit of 10 percent to 38.84 yuan.

The benchmark Shanghai index was down 0.32 percent at 2,986.38 points as sentiment was weighed down by a decline on Wall Street and profit-taking on the ChiNext board.