Investors look at stock information at a securities company in Shanghai February 27, 2007. [newsphoto]

China stocks took a roller coaster ride in the first two sessions after the Spring Festival, suffering a record daily tumble Tuesday after reaching an all-time high the previous day.

The tumble set the tone for the stock trading in the Wall Street, according to the Associated Press. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 546.02, or 4.3 percent, to 12,086.06 before recovering some ground in the last hour of trading to close down 416.02, or 3.29 percent, at 12,216.24, the worst loss since Sept. 17, 2001, the first trading day after the terror attacks.

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The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China's stock exchanges, fell 268.81 points, or 8.84 per cent, to 2,771.79, the biggest fall in points since the index was launched. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks the smaller of China's bourses, plummeted 66.3 points, or 8.54 per cent to 709.81. The Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 index of major companies in the two bourses, lost 250.18 points, or 9.24 per cent to 2,457.49.

Led by big caps, more than 900 stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell the daily limit of 10 per cent.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation's biggest lender, tumbled 7.86 per cent to 4.69 yuan. China Life, the country's biggest insurer, lost 9.02 per cent to 33.89 yuan. Industrial Bank, which made an A-share debut this month, was down 10 per cent to 24.11 yuan.

China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), Asia's biggest refiner, fell 10 per cent to 8.90 yuan.

China Vanke Co., the nation's biggest property developer, went from 9.97 percent to 14.26. Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., China's biggest steelmaker, dropped 9.98 percent to 9.02. Citic Securities Co., the nation's biggest publicly traded brokerage, lost 9.70 per cent to 36.21 yuan.

The decline came as some investors judged the Shanghai Composite Index's record closing high Monday to be excessive relative to earnings potential, according to Bloomberg News.

"The market's very sensitive as it's been trading at record levels and some stocks are considered overvalued," Fan Dizhao, who helps manage about $1.8 billion with Guotai Asset Management Co. in Shanghai was quoted as saying.

"Investors are nervous about recent rapid gains and aren't convinced further share-price increases can be sustained."

Speculation about possible measures against illegal capital also dragged on the stocks, hexun.com reported.

The government is to introduce a series of measures to push the illegal capital out of the equity market during the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top advisory body, the China Banking Regulatory Commission revealed Tuesday morning, according to speculations.

Some analysts deemed the dive another round of natural correction as profit-taking pressure increased after the Shanghai index topped the psychologically important level of 3,000.