Benchmark Shanghai index hits new two-year low

BEIJING - The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped for a second consecutive day Tuesday, hitting a two-year low.

The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.52 percent at 2,844.51, the lowest closing since mid-June of 2016. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.16 percent higher at 9,339.37.

Combined turnover stood at 325.8 billion yuan ($50 billion), slightly up from about 308 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Steel makers, cement producers and property developers saw the weakest performance Tuesday, with their sub-indices down 1.38 percent, 1.32 percent and 0.93 percent, respectively.

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co, a leading steel maker in China, dropped 4.37 percent. Anhui Conch Cement Co, a large cement maker, was down by 4.18 percent.

Poly Real Estate Group Co dropped 4.59 percent, while China Vanke was down by 3.59 percent.

Bucking the trend, newly listed shares performed strongest, with six companies surging by the daily limit of 10 percent.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style enterprises, gained 1.71 percent to close at 1,564.92.