China's benchmark stock index fell 0.77 per cent yesterday as index heavyweight Sinopec Corp led a broad technical correction after the index had gained more than 80 per cent this year.
The Shanghai composite index finished at 2,156.604 points, but the close was off an intra-day low of 2,097.417, helped by bargain-hunting late in the session, brokers said.
Turnover in Shanghai-listed A shares was at a multi-year high of 62.1 billion yuan (US$7.94 billion).
Despite yesterday's correction, sentiment remained bullish after the market rally this year, and interest in large-cap blue chips, in particular banking stocks, was still strong, analysts said.
"Banks are likely to resume an uptrend soon, though they fell these two days in line with the broad market's performance," said analyst Su Chuang at CITIC Securities.
Blue chips led the latest correction, which began on Tuesday as profit-taking kicked in after they had led the market's bull run this year, analysts said.
