BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed lower Wednesday, led by coal mining firms, with the Shanghai index posting its largest daily decrease in a month.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.41 percent, the largest daily drop since April 20, to end at 3,168.96 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.25 percent lower at 10,631.12 points.
Combined turnover totaled 460.76 billion yuan (about 72 billion U.S. dollars), expanding from 438.2 billion yuan on the previous trading day.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 1,048 to 266 on Shanghai bourse and by 1,538 to 396 in Shenzhen.
Share prices of coal mining companies plunged after news reports said major mining companies were ordered to cap the price of certain thermal coal below 570 yuan per tonne before June 10, to help stabilize the coal market.
China Shenhua, the largest coal mining company in the country, lost 7 percent to 20.34 yuan. Yanzhou Coal Mining Company dived 9.95 percent to 13.67 yuan.
Bucking the downward trend, shares of auto parts manufacturers and automobile service providers gained following news that China it will cut import tariffs on vehicles and auto parts starting July 1.
Shares of China Grand Automotive Services Co. climbed 1.08 percent to 7.52 yuan, while Zhejiang Yueling Co. and Yapp Automotive Systems Co. both surged by the daily limit of 10 percent to 9.86 yuan and 43.59 yuan, respectively.
The Ministry of Finance announced Tuesday that for car imports, the 25-percent tariff levied on 135 items and the 20-percent duty on four items will both be slashed to 15 percent, down 40 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
Import tariffs for 79 items of auto parts will be reduced to 6 percent from the current levels of 8 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent, 20 percent, and 25 percent, down 46 percent on average.
