Shenzhen stock prices yesterday smashed through their historic trading high after months of explosive buying but a late sell-off erased most early gains on the Composite Index.
The Shenzhen Composite Index - which tracks both A and B shares - hit 370.95 points in early afternoon, breaking a previous record of 368 points set in February 1993.
Brokers said late selling of large-cap stocks saw the index slip back to 363.89 points at the close, up a narrow 0.02 point. Turnover was 18.47 billion yuan.
Broker Yu Jun said: 'The atmosphere is now running high for stock investment in China.
'There is so much confidence in the market, and retail investors are becoming the growing force to trade stocks.' Analysts said stocks were boosted because official warnings by the watchdog China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) failed to dampen market sentiment.
But they warned of short-term profit-taking, as signalled by a late-afternoon sell-off of large-cap shares. Rumours that the CSRC was about to send inspectors to check brokerages' accounts could also trigger a correction, they said.