Chinese shares lower in morning trading

Chinese share prices were lower in Wednesday morning trading as property developers extended their losses on fears they will be pressured under a tight monetary policy environment, dealers said.

Banks also fell due to worries that the situation could cause cash-flow problems for property developers and lead to increased mortgage defaults by home buyers, saddling banks with bad loans, they said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, fell 39.71 points, or 1.43 percent, to 2,739.74 at 10:23 am (0223 GMT).

The Shanghai A-share index was down 41.76 points, or 1.43 percent, to 2,873.53, while the Shenzhen A-share index lost 18.16 points, or 2.05 percent, to 866.15 points.

(Agencies)