Gold stocks drag Chinese share market down

BEIJING -- Chinese stocks closed lower on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street and European losses overnight, with gold shares leading the way south.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.19 percent, or 3.9 points, to finish at 2,029.29.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed at 8,284.25, down 26.69 points, or 0.32 percent.

Combined turnover contracted to 77.85 billion yuan ($12.36 billion) from 89.45 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 674 to 237 in Shanghai and by 1,127 to 333 in Shenzhen.

Gold shares led the declines, with the entire board falling 1.85 percent after US gold futures settled down overnight.

Zhongjin Gold Corp, a leading gold producer, dipped 4.48 percent to close at 17.29 yuan per share, while its smaller rival Gansu Ronghua Industry Group Co slid 2.71 percent to finish at 9.34 yuan per share.

Internet stocks also trended lower, led by Shunwang Technology Co, which fell 5.76 percent to 25.02 yuan per share.

Bucking the trend, cement producers rallied after the announcement of Monday that southwest China's Sichuan province would invest 3.67 trillion yuan in 2,242 projects by 2013.

Sichuan Guodong Construction Co rose by the 10-percent daily limit to close at 2.44 yuan per share.