Chinese shares fall 2.46 percent at midday

Chinese share prices tumbled 2.46 percent by midday Tuesday as investors took cues from weak performances of US financial stocks and sold shares in their mainland counterparts, dealers said.

A sharp fall on Wall Street overnight weakened sentiment as the effects faded from Chinese leaders' statements last week suggesting policies would now focus on boosting growth instead of controlling inflation, traders said.

"The market is seesawing without any momentum in either direction. But in a bearish market, that kind of volatility always indicates a downward bias," Wang Junqing at Guosen Securities told Dow Jones Newswires.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was down 71.47 points, or 2.46 percent, at 2,831.54.

The Shanghai A-share index was down 75.20 points, or 2.47 percent, at 2,970.30 points, while the Shenzhen A-share index shed 20.12 points, or 2.21 percent, to 891.71.