Shanghai stocks tumbled as much as 4.5 percent today on speculation the central bank will raise borrowing costs before bargain hunters created a rebound.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, shed 0.17 percent, or 9.97 points, to close at 5903.26.

Decliners outnumbered gainers by 676 to 215 and turnover totaled 222 billion yuan (US$29.56 billion).

Banks and real estate companies led the decline.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 1.8 percent to 7.65 yuan and Bank of China lost 2.7 percent to 6.48 yuan.

Bank of Communications lost 3.26 percent to 14.55 yuan and Mensheng Bank lost 3.28 percent to 16.81 yuan.

China Vanke, the No. 1 publicly traded real estate developer, slid 4.03 percent to 32.89 yuan and Poly Real Estate also lost 6.2 percent to 76 yuan.

Brokers reported widespread growth led by Haitong Securities Co, which announced that its net profit in the first nine months of this year is predicted to exceed four billion yuan, jumping more than 4,200 percent from a year earlier.

Haitong surged 10 percent to 54.92 yuan per share and Northeast Securities Co jumped 9.48 percent to 64.54 yuan.

Airlines and non-ferrous metals also performed well.

Shanghai Airlines advanced 9.53 percent to 20 yuan and Air China rose 7.28 percent to 25.51 yuan.

China Southern Airlines rose 7.67 percent to 25.42 yuan and China Eastern Airlines rose 5.07 percent to 19.05 yuan.

Western Mining Co soared 10 percent to 61.52 yuan and Jiangxi Copper, China's second-largest producer of the metal, rose 4.1 percent to 75.19 yuan.

China Shenhua Energy, which debuted in Shanghai on Monday, grew 9.86 percent to 92.12 yuan.

(Shanghai Daily October 12, 2007)