BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares continue to lose ground following previous dive, opened 1.82 percent lower on Thursday.

    The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, opened at 3,541.28 points, down 1.82 percent.

    The Shenzhen Component Index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange opened at 13,294.41 points, 1.44 percent decline.

    The Hushen 300 Index reflecting the performance of China's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges opened at 3,847.44 points, also lower than the previous trading day.

    Agriculture shares led the rise, while bank, insurance and aviation stocks largely led the slide.

    PetroChina, which accounts for one quarter of the key Shanghai index, slumped 2.86 percent to open at 18 yuan (2.57 U.S. dollars).

    China Pacific Insurance opened at 26.6 yuan, down 4.93 percent after its 300 million A shares became tradable Wednesday.

    It was 6.7 percent below from its IPO price of 30 yuan, about 36 times of estimated 2007 earnings.