International Markets

China shares mixed on electricity price increase

11/20/09 03:41 EST

SHANGHAI -Chinese shares ended mixed Friday after a five-day rally on electricity price increases, but finished the week up 3.8 percent.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 12.27 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 3,308.35, while the Shenzhen Composite Index for China's second exchange added 0.5 percent to 1,208.82.

China raised electricity rates for businesses and industries Friday, part of a long-term effort to adjust prices to reflect costs and promote energy saving as the country struggles to meet soaring demand.

"Profit-taking investors sold on the news as the market needs a breather after advancing for so long anyway," said Wen Lijun, an analyst for Nanjing Securities.

Resource shares and big electricity consumers fell on rising production costs, while power generators were heartened by the news of possible higher profits.

PetroChina Ltd., Asia's largest oil and gas producer, lost 0.9 percent to 14.03 yuan; China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's largest refiner by capacity, slipped 1.8 percent to 12.53 yuan, while China Shenhua Energy Ltd., the country's biggest coal producer, dropped by 1.5 percent to 37.28 yuan.

Jiangxi Copper Ltd., China's biggest metal producers, fell 1.4 percent to 42.24 yuan, and Aluminum Corp. of China declined by 1.7 percent to 15.32 yuan.

Yunnan Wenshan Electric Power Co. jumped 3.5 percent to 6.4 yuan, while Leshan Electric Power Co. gained 3 percent to 12.18 yuan.

Tourism-related companies rose again, on expectations the government might announce more policies to promote the industry. Beijing Capital Tourism Co. leapt 2.6 percent to 22.73 yuan, while Guilin Tourism Corp. jumped 1.9 percent to 12.04 yuan.

In currency markets, the yuan strengthened to 6.8277 to the U.S. dollar, up from Thursday's close of 6.8283.