(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-17 17:39

BEIJING -- Chinese share prices continued to fall on Friday, prompted by the decline of neighboring financial markets, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 2.28 percent.

The major index dropped 108.87 points to close at 4,656.57 points. The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller stock market fell 2.26 percent, or 364.15 points, to 15,689 points.

All the 12 banks listed on the mainland stock market fell, which became the major force in driving the index down.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China's largest state-owned commercial bank, plummeted 4.58 percent to 6.46 yuan per share, dragging the whole Shanghai index down by more than 20 points. The Bank of China dropped 3.19 percent to stand at 5.76 yuan per share.

Analysts said the Chinese market is unlikely to be affected by the US mortgage crisis as it remains closed to international capital. But the continuous drop in the global market has dampened the confidence of investors.

Of the listed companies which have released interim earnings reports, 566 companies reported an average profit rise of 82.3 percent.

The combined turnover on the two bourses reached 207.1 billion yuan (around US$23.4 billion), a little higher than 205.6 billion yuan in the previous day.