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1st LD-Writethru: China stocks open sharply lower Friday

Xinhua, July 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Chinese shares extended the dive of recent weeks and opened sharply lower on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opening at 3,793.71, down 3.04 percent, evidence that investors' sentiment remains weak.

The Shenzhen Component Index opened at 12,475.61 points, down 3.47 percent. The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style tracking board of growth enterprises, opened 3.41 percent lower at 2,559.03 points.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost more than 6 percent within the first hour of trading to fall below the psychological threshold of 3,700 points.

Shares fell across the board in most industries, with utilities, steel and transportation companies leading the losses.

On Thursday, the Shanghai Composite Index followed Wednesday's plunge of 5.23 percent with another drop of 3.48 percent, despite a string of supporting measures from the authorities.

After the tumble on Wednesday, the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses announced a roughly 30 percent cut in stock transaction fees. The securities watchdog late Thursday also announced it will investigate suspected manipulation of the stock market. Endi