1st LD-Writethru: Chinese shares retreat on underperforming heavyweights

Chinese shares reversed Monday's remarkable rally and closed in negative territory on Tuesday, marginally above the 2,900-point mark.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dived 0.81 percent to close at 2,903.33 points while the smaller Shenzhen index lost 0.69 percent to end the day at 10,299.67 points.

The ChiNext Index, the NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, slumped 1.22 percent to close at 2,218.12 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses waned to 572.9 billion yuan (87.77 billion U.S. dollars), mildly lower than Monday's 602.1 billion yuan.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 693 to 280 in Shanghai and 1044 to 497 in Shenzhen.

The strong tone set by the surge on Monday failed to continue Tuesday, as more than 1,700 stocks saw declines during the day's trading.

Heavyweights were among the top losers.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation's largest bank, lost 0.74 percent to close at 4.05 yuan apiece. While CITIC Securities, the largest brokerage, plunged 2.18 percent and finished at 15.24 yuan.

Property, which led the gains on Monday following favorable government policies, saw a decline of 1.1 percent at closing, making it one of Tuesday's worst performers.

While the oil sector, which covers 24 firms, gained 1.11 percent against heavy pressure across broader indices, accompanied with steadier global oil prices.

Shares were mired in negative territory during the whole day, with losses accelerating shortly after lunch, before finally narrowing to a 0.81-percent loss following several attempts to climb up. Endit