Chinese shares plummets. (Photo/Gov.cn)

BEIJING, June 19 -- Chinese shares plummeted on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 6.42 percent to finish at 4,478.36 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index lost 6.03 percent to close at 15,725.47 points.

The major Shanghai index dived by 13 percent from the previous week, in the biggest weekly drop in seven years. Nearly one thousand shares on the two bourses slumped by the daily limit of 10 percent.

During Friday's trading, losers outnumbered winners by 903 to 25 in Shanghai, and by 1,295 to 96 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover for the two bourses shrank to 1.29 trillion yuan (210.23 billion U.S. dollars) from Thursday's 1.5 trillion yuan.

Stocks relating to nuclear power, transportation, medical care, online education, mobile games and reform of state-owned enterprises were the biggest losers.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Company dived by the daily limit of 10 percent to close at 17.77 yuan per share. Shanghai Electric Group Company lost 9.98 percent to end at 17.23 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, dived 5.41 percent to end at 3,314.98 points.

Analysts attributed the plunge mainly to four factors. Firstly, new listings of stocks, especially large-cap shares have kept drawing money away from the market.