China stocks sink on weak data

Chinese shares slumped on Monday over sluggish customs data, with ship manufacturing stocks the worst hit. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went down 2.86 percent, or 58.84 points, to finish at 1,999.07. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 2.87 percent, or 210.04 points, to close at 7,118.44. Combined turnover on the two bourses grew to 219.64 billion yuan (35.78 billion U.S. dollars) from 215.84 billion yuan on the previous trading day. The sharp slump was mainly attributed to China's February customs data released on Saturday. It showed the first trade deficit in 11 months, contrasting with the huge surpluses last February and this January. The yuan also weakened on Monday. The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar went down by 111 basis points to 6.1312. The ship manufacturing sector plummeted 6.63 percent. The missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers, remained unlocated after the loss of its radar signal at 1:20 a.m. on Saturday. The plane manufacturing sector sank 4.86 percent. Other factors including the largest volume of lock-up shares becoming tradable this week and the restart of initial public offerings in March also contributed to Monday's decline.