Signs of improvement in China's manufacturing sector weren't enough to prevent stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen from ending lower Thursday.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 18.31 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 2,302.60; while the Shenzhen Component Index shed 104.23 points, or 1.09 percent, to finish at 9,444.08.
Combined trading volume at the two exchanges totaled 254 billion yuan ($40.84 billion) Thursday, up from Wednesday's 188.8 billion yuan.
Both indices swung up in morning trading after HSBC's preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for January, a widely watched gauge of factory activity, came in with a reading of 51.9, the highest level in two years and the latest indicator that China's economy was pulling out of its recent slump. The data helped the Shanghai Composite reach an intra-day peak of 2,362.94 in mid-morning trading, the highest level in eight months, before both markets tumbled into negative territory amid profit taking.
Military and aviation stocks continued to soar as tensions escalated in the Korean Peninsula. Sichuan Chengfa Aero-Science & Technology Co shot to the daily limit to 13.81 yuan.
The environmental sector was the markets' biggest loser Thursday. Jiangsu Welle Environmental Co shed 6.26 percent to 20.23 yuan.
Coal and agricultural stocks also pulled off weak showings. Henan Shenhuo Coal & Power Co lost 6.65 percent to 7.30 yuan. Shandong Yisheng Livestock & Poultry Breeding Co fell 6.51 percent to 10.63 yuan.
Banking shares had a mostly positive day. China's biggest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd rose 1.43 percent to 4.25 yuan, although Ping An Bank Co declined 2.99 percent to 19.45 yuan.
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