At the Shanghai Stock Exchange, 356 stocks went up, 375 down and 109 flat. Bright Diary and Food was the top gainer, with its share price rising 10.04 percent to 14.69 yuan. Changchun FAW-Sihuan Automobile and Xinhua Metal Products also saw their share prices sealed at the maximum cap while Sichuan Tianyi Science and Technology dropped 7.42 percent as the biggest loser after yesterday's slump.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Minsheng Banking Corp, seeing the largest trading volume and transaction value, both slid, pressing the Shanghai index down.

In the Shenzhen market, Shenzhen Huafa Electronics and Jilin Guanghua Holding Group were top gainers, while Jilin Aodong Medicine Industry Group led the fall. Panzhihua New Steel and Vanadium and China Vanke ranked on top in terms of trading volume and transaction value.

Analysts believe the recent price adjustments and fluctuations in the stock market are necessary but only temporary. Once the stocks stand still over the critical psychological frontier, the 4,000 mark, they will march to higher levels with stead paces.

Observers speculate an interest rate hike by the central bank this month. Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China said yesterday that China will continue to use monetary instruments to maintain macro-economic stability.

Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, said China's stock valuations "must be a bubble" and prices are likely to decline. "As a Chinese, I'm worried about the stock market in China," Li, 78, told reporters in Hong Kong Thursday.

Aware of all these worries, the authorities have issued a series of measures recently to avoid turbulent fluctuation in the market. A new investor protection fund will start functioning on August 1, according to a joint release by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance yesterday.

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