Chinese shares open 0.6% lower after Wall Street decline

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese share prices opened modestly lower on Friday in the wake of the overnight sharp decline on the Wall Street.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A andB shares, opened down 26.79 points, or 0.59 percent, at 4,500.39.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 142.96 points, or 1.15 percent, to 12.284.30 as the newly-released weak economic data heightened fears of the U.S. recession.

The U.S. Conference Board said Thursday the January index of leading economic indicators fell 0.1 percent, the fourth-monthly drop in a row. Meanwhile the Philadelphia Fed index, a regional reading on manufacturing, tumbled to -24.0 this month from -20.9 in January.