Chinese shares were mixed Tuesday as investors worried the country's rapid pace of bank lending might cool, while swine flu fears battered airline and tourism stocks.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 3.91 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 2,401.44, while the Shenzhen Composite Index for the country's second exchange edged up 0.4 percent to 798.3.
Investors took a break as they waited for the release of April economic figures next week, said Mao Sheng, analyst for Huaxi Securities in the weastern city of Chengdu.
"This is a technical adjustment amid the vacuum period of figures," Mao said. "Investors were certainly worried about the sustainablity of lending growth after it surpassed expectation in first quarter."
Bank lending surged to record highs in the first quarter as lenders pumped out credit to support Beijing's multibillion-dollar stimulus. That fueled hopes money might flow into financial markets and boost share prices.
PetroChina Ltd. fell 2.2 percent to 11.46 yuan after the company, Asia's largest oil and gas producer, reported a 35 percent fall in first-quarter profit. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, gave up 2.4 percent to 9.44 yuan.
Flu fears hurt airline and tourism stocks, while pharmaceutical shares rose on expectations of possible demand for vaccines and flu treatments.
China Eastern Airlines Corp. tumbled 5 percent to 4.55 yuan, and China Southern Airlines Ltd. sank 6.2 percent to 5.31 yuan.
Shares in about 30 pharmaceutical-related companies soared by the daily maximum of 10 percent. Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co. rose to 11.44 yuan and Shenzhen Neptunus Bioengineering Co. ended at 5.34 yuan.
In currency markets, the yuan strengthened to 6.82745 to the U.S. dollar, up from Monday's close of 6.82854.
