Chinese shares close down 5.29 percent

Chinese share prices closed down 5.29 percent on Friday as investors tracked losses from weak overseas markets overnight amid new record-high oil prices, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed down 153.42 points at 2,748.43 on turnover of 61.7 billion yuan (9.0 billion dollars).

Investors were unsettled as the New York stock market plunged more than 3.0 percent overnight after oil prices closed at 139.64 dollars per barrel, topping 140 dollars during intraday trading for the first time, they said.

Concerns over new share offers also weighed down the index as investors worried liquidity pressure would further impact the already weak stock market.

"The US market weakness is affecting local investors' confidence," Jacky Zhang at CSC International Holdings told Dow Jones Newswires.

The securities regulator said late Thursday it would assess an application for initial public offerings in Shanghai by Everbright Securities and China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp on Monday.

Everbright Securities said in a draft prospectus it plans to sell up to 520 million A share and the official Securities Times estimated the brokerage could raise more than 10 billion yuan (1.5 billion dollars) from the IPO.

South Locomotive, the nation's top rail transport equipment maker, said it plans to issue up to three billion A shares and offer up to two billion H shares in Hong Kong later.

"The market sentiment was already weak and now the pending share supply, all from relatively large companies, are further blows," Xu Yan at Guotai Junan Securities said.

The Shanghai A-share Index lost 161.12 points, or 5.29 percent, at 2,882.95 on turnover of 61.4 billion yuan. The Shenzhen A-share Index was down 53.8 points, or 6.06 percent, at 833.21 on turnover of 32.8 billion yuan.

(Agencies)