Chinese stocks fall for third day

An investor looks at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Jan 12, 2014. [Asianewspahoto by Long Wei]

Chinese stocks fell for a third day, the longest losing streak since November, amid concern that rally of the world's best performing market over the past year has been excessive.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.71 percent to 3,229.32 on Monday, marking the lowest level since Dec 30, while Shenzhen Component Index closed at 11,285.18, down 0.35 percent.

Finance and property sector led the loss, as Poly Real Estate Group, Haitong Securities and Soochow Securities slid about 3 percent.

Aluminum Corp lost 6.1 percent to lead declines for metal stocks. The country's biggest energy giant PetroChina slumped 3.7 percent before the authority releases latest trade data on Tuesday.

Steel shares retreated after recent gains, with Liuzhou Iron and Steel Group, Shougang Steel Co and Valin Steel losing more than 5 percent.

The Shanghai gauge has surged 60 percent over the past year as the best performer and traded at 12.3 times 12-month projected earnings last week, the highest level since May 2011, according Bloomberg.