Stocks struggle to close in higher territory on Monday

BEIJING - Chinese stocks fluctuated and struggled to end the trading day in positive territory on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.41 percent to 3,250.81 points. The smaller Shenzhen index closed 0.16 percent higher at 10,532.33 points. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's high-growth enterprises, gained 0.21 percent to close at 1,953.82 points.

Combined turnover rose to 495.73 billion yuan ($71.95 billion).

After market close on Friday, Beijing announced new curbs on the city's real estate market, joining several other cities in efforts to cool surging prices.

Second-home buyers must now put down at least 60 percent of the transaction price, and anyone with mortgage records, but no home to sell, will be considered a second-home buyer, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Shares in leading real estate developer China Vanke Co Ltd fell 1.9 percent to end the day at 21.13 yuan per share, while Poly Real Estate Group closed at 9.62 yuan per share, down 1.23 percent.

On the liquidity front, China's central bank renewed its net cash injections via open market operations Monday after suspending the move for 17 trading days. The People's Bank of China conducted 100 billion yuan of reverse repos, a process by which the central bank purchases securities from banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

The injection saw 40 billion yuan net pumped into the market, offset by 60 billion yuan in maturing reverse repos.

Xinhua