Shanghai B shares fell for a third session yesterday amid concern over the second-half performance of some companies, analysts said.
The B-Share Index edged down 0.77 per cent to 72.93 points on turnover of US$4.3 million.
Shenyin & Wanguo analyst Irene Zhou said: 'Investors have doubted whether corporate earnings will improve in the second half amid a difficult operating environment, despite profit increases posted by . . . companies in their interims.' Overseas institutions have reportedly been shifting some of their funds away from the lacklustre B-share market to take advantage of the bull run in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong-based traders said, however, that such switching would only happen on a limited scale as B shares accounted for a small portion of most portfolios.
The Shenzhen B-Share Index rose 0.26 per cent to 130.04 points after falling for four consecutive sessions.