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1st LD-Writethru: Chinese shares close lower on Friday

Xinhua, April 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Chinese shares ended lower on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.47 percent, or 20.82 points, to finish at 4,393.69 points.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.98 percent, or 144.52 points, to close at 14,598.69 points.

Combined turnover on the two bourses slipped to 1.59 trillion yuan (259.8 billion U.S. dollars) from Thursday's 1.68 trillion yuan.

The market opened lower in the morning, and then went up during the day as the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) denied claims that authorities are about to raise stamp duty and resume the tax on capital profits to control leverage risks on the stock market, which is at risk of forming bubbles in some areas.

In a posting on its Twitter-like Sina Weibo account, the CSRC said these were "rumors".

The oil, medical and military industries led the gains. Shanghai Lonyer Fuels Co. increased by the daily limit of 10 percent to end at 38.56 yuan per share. Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. gained 9.94 percent to close at 7.85 yuan.

Banks, securities, nonferrous metal and steel heavyweights were among the biggest losers. Agricultural Bank of China lost 2.24 percent to close at 3.92 yuan per share. China Merchants Securities Co. lost 4.02 percent to end at 36.31 yuan per share.

The CSRC announced on Thursday that two batches of IPO applications instead of one will be approved every month with immediate effect.

Analysts say that the authorities are acting in accordance with the market, which has seen a rapid recent rise and strong need for business financing.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.06 percent, or 28.57 points, to end at 2,734.75 points. Endi