Chinese shares continued a downward trend for the second consecutive trading day and lost 0.48 percent Friday on profit taking, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sank 0.48 percent, or 13.35 points, to close at 2,753.89 points Friday.

The Shenzhen Component Index went down 0.62 percent, or 66.61 points, to 10,667.11.

Losses outnumbered gains by 501 to 343 in Shanghai and 434 to 305 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover shrank to 234.52 billion yuan (34.32 billion U.S. dollars) Friday from 263.54 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Chinese shares opened slightly higher Friday with the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6 percent to 2,783.86, echoing the overnight Wall Street rally, but profit taking reversed the early gains.

The Shanghai Composite Index has gained 3.2 percent this week as of Friday boosted by the heartened investor confidence and rising commodities prices.

Chinalco advanced 0.73 percent to 12.47 yuan, after Australian mining titan Rio Tinto scrapped the proposed 19.5 billion U.S. dollars of investment by Chinalco and forged a joint venture with BHP Billiton. Rio Tinto will pay a break fee of 195 million U.S. dollars to the Chinese top aluminum maker.

Nonferrous shares continued to gain ground, boosted by a rally in oil and other commodities prices, dealers said. Shandong Gold Mining soared 7.73 percent to 57.84 yuan, while Jiangxi Copper Corp. added 0.99 percent to 32.78 yuan.

Property shares dragged down the index as investors cashed in hefty gains. China Vanke, the largest property developer by market value, lost 1.57 percent to 10.69 yuan, while Poly Real Estate, another major developer, sank 1.13 percent to 24.55 yuan.

Financial large-caps that gained momentum during the previous two trading days fell across the board Friday. China Construction Bank lost 1.22 percent to 4.84 yuan, with Bank of China down 0.81 percent to 3.69 yuan.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2009)